Following long-term pressure from children’s rights activists, mainland China is considering abolishing the crime of soliciting underage prostitutes, meaning that adults who have sex with minors will be charged with rape, the South China Morning Post has reported.
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Existing law states that anyone who has sex with a prostitute under the age of 14 faces a maximum jail term of 15 years, while sex with a girl under 14 is classified as rape and carries the death sentence.
The solicitation clause was introduced in 1997, and protected those who hired prostitutes while being unaware that she was underage from being charged with rape. Also, legislators believed at the time that by being a prostitute, this suggested that the girl was consenting, and interactions were therefore not forced sex or rape.
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Activists have argued that this is a loophole which has allowed well connected individuals caught having sex with minors to receive a lighter sentence.
This change is among numerous other potential amendments to the Criminal Law that the National People’s Congress have been considering, during the six-day legislative meeting which is held every two months in Beijing.
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