中國正在考慮廢除嫖宿幼女罪,定性爲強姦罪
China's top legislature has debated repealing the crime of sex with underage prostitutes and reclassifying it as rape, which would face a tougher punishment.
中國最高立法機關已經就是否取消嫖宿幼女罪而定性爲強姦罪進行審議，一旦成立，將面臨更爲嚴重的處罰。The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee deliberated the draft amendment to the Criminal Law as its six-day bimonthly legislative session started on Monday.
全國人民代表大會常務委員會從週一開始對刑法修正案(草案)進行每兩月一次每次爲期六天的立法會議。Under the current law, people who have sex with prostitutes less than 14 years old face a maximum of 15 years in prison, while those convicted of raping a child may face death sentence.
根據現行法律,與不足14歲的幼女發生性行爲最高面臨15年的監禁,而被判犯有強姦幼女罪則可能面臨死刑。
Legal professionals have been questioning whether to scrap the crime of sex with underage prostitutes since it was written into the Criminal Law in 1997.
1997年刑法修訂時，嫖宿幼女罪被寫入刑法成爲了單獨的刑法罪名，自此法律專業人士一直質疑是否應該取消嫖宿幼女罪。
Legislature has carried out multiple investigations on the issue and consulted academics and specialists.
立法機構在這個問題向有關學者和專家進行了多方考證和諮詢。"There is no need to define such a crime. Having sex with minors should be considered rape, no matter who she is and what she does," said Jia Chunmei, a prosecutor from North China's Hebei province and an NPC deputy, during a legislative session last August.
“嫖宿幼女罪應該廢除。只要是與未成年人發生關係就應當定爲強姦罪,無論她是誰,做什麼,這樣才能確保刑法對幼女實行無歧視（差別）的保護。”身爲檢察官的賈春梅作爲河北省全國人大代表,在去年8月的立法會議提出該建議。。The conflicting provisions have helped offenders escape harsher punishment, as they have argued that the underage girl has consented and was paid, Jia said.
在賈春梅看來，“該法規的爭議之處給罪犯以可乘之機，使其逃避了更爲嚴厲的處罰，因爲在他們看來，是在受害者同意並且給付金錢的情況下發生的關係。Gu Yongzhong, an expert with All China Lawyers' Association, said having sex with underage prostitutes was extremely vile that should be firmly cracked down upon.
中華全國律師協會的法律專家顧永忠表示,與未成年女性發生性關係的行爲非常惡劣,應該堅決打擊，予以嚴懲。Although establishing the crime of sex with underage prostitutes is to increase the protection of minors, in practice, it caused more controversy as lighter penalties were imposed on the crime which brought complaints from families of victims, Gu said.
雖然初衷是爲了加大對未成年的保護,但在司法實踐中,許多嫖宿幼女案被害人和家長對該罪名都非常不滿，抱怨對罪犯處罰過輕，因此引發了極大爭議,顧永忠說。Especially when the criminals who had sex with underage prostitutes were government officials, the public reacted strongly to the lenient sentence instead of tougher punishment when sentenced as rape, Lao Dongyan, associate professor of the Tsinghua University Law School.
清華大學法學院的副教授勞東燕表示，當與未成年女性發生性關係的對象是政府官員時,公衆反應尤爲強烈,認爲應該按強姦罪論處進行嚴厲處罰而不是予以輕判。Moreover, the crime imposed stigma on young girls who might engage in forced prostitution, but as victims of the crime, "prostitutes" forever became the label of the girls.
此外,嫖宿幼女罪給受害幼女貼上了“賣淫女”標籤，這無疑是對她們的侮辱。雖然是犯罪的受害者,但“妓女”一詞卻永遠成爲女孩身上的標籤。Lao proposed separating "rape of minors" into its own law, in order to stress the protection of young girls, adding that lawmakers have responded to the public's calls while considering if to abolish the crime.
勞東燕提出，爲了加強對年輕女孩的保護，應當將“嫖宿幼女”當作強姦罪定罪,並稱立法者已對公衆的要求進行迴應,考慮是否應當廢除“嫖宿幼女罪”。In a high-profile case in 2009, eight people, including four government officials and a teacher, were jailed for terms ranging from seven years to life for child rape in Southwest China's Guizhou province.
2009年發生在中國西南部的貴州省一個案件備受關注,在本案中包括四名政府官員和一名教師在內的八人因強姦幼兒被處以七年有期徒刑至無期徒刑不等。Yuan Ronghui, an unemployed woman who abetted and forced 10 schoolgirls into prostitution in Xishui county from October 2007 to June 2008, received a life term handed down by local court.
自2007年10月到2008年6月期間,在一名叫袁蓉暉（化名）的失業婦女威逼利誘下，浠水縣10名在校女生開始賣淫。最終袁蓉暉被當地法院判處無期徒刑。Yuan offered her own apartment as a venue for the rapes, after her two teenage accomplices abducted schoolgirls, three under the age of 14, from a primary school and three junior high schools, the court heard.
法院審理時發現袁蓉暉（化名）夥同兩名十幾歲的青少年誘拐了六名在校女生後，便將自己的住所當做賣淫場所。六名女生中三名是高中生，另外三名則爲小學生，年齡尚不滿十四歲。Seven other people were jailed for terms of seven to 14 years after being convicted of child-rape.
與本案有關的其餘7人因被指控強姦兒童而被判處7年至14年有期徒刑。
