Social awareness

In China, underage victims often choose to remain silent after being assaulted.

Wang Dawei, a criminal psychology expert and professor of criminology at People's Public Security University of China, told Xinhua News Agency that only one in every seven cases of child sexual assault is reported.

Chen said this situation is due to insufficient sex education in schools and among families.

The survey by the Girls' Protecting Project found that nearly 80 percent of teenagers in China lack education relating to sexuality. Most of the knowledge they acquire about sex is learned from the internet.

According to a UNESCO report, sex lessons are not given in middle schools in China, but are combined with psychology, biology and moral education. Only one out of 30 such schools surveyed had a curriculum allocating time in class specifically for sex education.

Chen said: "Around the world, children are gaining increased access to digital technology and are going online at younger ages. The information they receive online can be either beneficial or harmful, and the accuracy of such information cannot be guaranteed, so we need an up-to-date and nationwide sex education curriculum and plan designed for young children.

"This is a huge issue for our teachers and parents－educating children about sex and body safety. For example, telling them not to let anyone touch them inappropriately, otherwise they must report (such incidents) to trusted adults. Right now, most parents are too embarrassed to discuss the subject of sex, or do not know how to talk about it with their children. This should also change."

Social organizations and children's rights advocates have been making progress in the fight to prevent children falling into trouble.

Founded in 2013, the Girls' Protecting Project has sent teams of volunteers to at least 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the country to train teachers about sex education and give lectures to students and parents.

By the end of 2018, the project had reached out to more than 2.3 million children and over 490,000 parents. Last month, it launched a series of online short videos on Sina Weibo, in which celebrities told young children how to protect themselves.

As part of the project, the Guangdong Rural Women Development Foundation made a six-episode cartoon series for children age 6 to 12 and their parents. To fill the gap in sex education outside the classroom, the Tin Tin Peas Growth Story is aimed at educating them about sexual and reproductive health, the importance of sex education, and preventing children developing a negative attitude toward sex.