After receiving significant public input and undergoing a third rewrite, China’s highest legislature approved a bill on Sunday that will give women stronger protection against sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The measure was passed at a time when campaigners were alarmed by the government’s increased emphasis on the importance of traditional women’s roles, as well as what some saw as setbacks for women’s rights and more restricted views on abortion.
Some of those more conservative points of view may or may not be considered under the new law. In the immediate aftermath of its adoption, the law lacked any specifics. In over 30 years, there have been no changes to the law governing women’s safety. The Standing Committee of the NPC received a resolution on Thursday with the working title ‘Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law’. The NPC proclaimed that the law had been approved on its website.
On the website of the NPC, it is said that hundreds of individuals submitted suggestions for amendments to the law. The legislation ‘strengthens the protection of the rights and interests of disadvantaged groups such as poor women, elderly women, and disabled women,’ official news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. According to Xinhua, employers would be held responsible for any infringement of women’s labour and social security rights and interests.
According to Xinhua, local officials would also get instructions for rescuing victims of human trafficking and kidnapping. People were horrified by pictures of a woman in chains that were posted online at the start of this year, and the conversation about how to combat human trafficking, particularly in rural areas where the issue has long been recognised, intensified.
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