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Girl, 7, seriously hurt in sexual assault
By Xie Wenting Source:Global Times Published: 2012-12-27 1:39:04
The shoes of the 7-year-old girl who was molested. Photo: Li Hao/GT
As a seven-year-old girl lay on her hospital bed, crying and screaming as nurses tried to care for the severe lacerations throughout her vagina, her father, standing outside the room on Wednesday, said he feared her future will be ruined if people find out.
"This [the rape] is not a good thing. She is a little girl. If other people know this, it will damage her reputation," said father, whose name is being withheld by the Global Times to protect the migrant worker family's privacy.
He said the attack happened Monday afternoon as the girl walked the one mile from her home to her school, and that the girl had met the man several times before, adding that so far, the criminal is at large.
"When she can check out of the hospital, we will take her to the criminal police. She will then see the footage and detect the criminal," he said.
Zi Xiangdong, the spokesman of Beijing Public Security Bureau, did not confirm the case but he stressed that safety measures are in place for students.
"To protect the safety of the students in kindergartens, primary or middle schools is our daily work. It includes things like the protection for students from school to school, the daily security protection and the instructions the police give the school guards," said Zi.
Wan Daqiang, a lawyer specializing in child protection from the Beijing Shangquan Law Firm, said that cases of juveniles being raped happen from time to time.
"Most criminals are people without any job, whose morality standard is low," Wan said.
After the father heard about the case, he rushed to Beijing from his hometown, where he had been for a month, he said.
His daughter did not tell anyone about the attack. Rather, she went to school that morning.
"Her teacher found the girl's abnormal state so she called her mother," he said. As in other countries, sexual crimes are under reported in China. "Rape is considered to be a shameful thing, so people aren't willing to tell others," said Wan.
"For some, this is the reason that they even don't go to the police. For this reason, it is more widespread than people think," he added.
A series of academic studies published in the 2000s estimate the rate of child sexual abuse in China ranges from 16 to 25 percent, depending on how it is measured, with roughly 1 in 10 girls subject to some form of physical abuse.
As a seven-year-old girl lay on her hospital bed, crying and screaming as nurses tried to care for the severe lacerations throughout her vagina, her father, standing outside the room on Wednesday, said he feared her future will be ruined if people find out.
"This [the rape] is not a good thing. She is a little girl. If other people know this, it will damage her reputation," said father, whose name is being withheld by the Global Times to protect the migrant worker family's privacy.
He said the attack happened Monday afternoon as the girl walked the one mile from her home to her school, and that the girl had met the man several times before, adding that so far, the criminal is at large.
"When she can check out of the hospital, we will take her to the criminal police. She will then see the footage and detect the criminal," he said.
Zi Xiangdong, the spokesman of Beijing Public Security Bureau, did not confirm the case but he stressed that safety measures are in place for students.
"To protect the safety of the students in kindergartens, primary or middle schools is our daily work. It includes things like the protection for students from school to school, the daily security protection and the instructions the police give the school guards," said Zi.
Wan Daqiang, a lawyer specializing in child protection from the Beijing Shangquan Law Firm, said that cases of juveniles being raped happen from time to time.
"Most criminals are people without any job, whose morality standard is low," Wan said.
After the father heard about the case, he rushed to Beijing from his hometown, where he had been for a month, he said.
His daughter did not tell anyone about the attack. Rather, she went to school that morning.
"Her teacher found the girl's abnormal state so she called her mother," he said. As in other countries, sexual crimes are under reported in China. "Rape is considered to be a shameful thing, so people aren't willing to tell others," said Wan.
"For some, this is the reason that they even don't go to the police. For this reason, it is more widespread than people think," he added.
A series of academic studies published in the 2000s estimate the rate of child sexual abuse in China ranges from 16 to 25 percent, depending on how it is measured, with roughly 1 in 10 girls subject to some form of physical abuse.
Posted in: Society, Metro Beijing