Left-behind girls vulnerable to sexual assault: report( Xinhua) 10:18, September 14, 2013 BEIJING, Sept. 13 -- China's rural left-behind girls and children of migrant workers aremore likely to become victims of sexual assault, said a report published on Friday.
The report found left-behind girls are most vulnerable to sexual offences in less developedregions, and migrant girls or children of migrant workers face higher chances of assault indeveloped areas.
Jointly released by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) and the ResearchCenter for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise under Beijing Normal University, the reportblamed lack of guardianship as the direct cause for more sexual assault and harassmenttargeted at those cohorts.
Increasing numbers of rural workers heading for cities have led to China's left-behind andmigrant children.
Left-behind children are those who remain in their rural homes after their parents migrateto cities for jobs. The children are usually cared for by grandparents or other relatives.
Lack of basic guardianship can even lead to repeated and prolonged sexual harassment andassault, the report added.
Chen Xiaoxia, secretary general of the CCTF, said the report was based on analyses bygroups of researchers who have collected questionnaires and conducted field studies inGuangdong, Guizhou and Jilin provinces since March of this year.
According to statistics released by the women's federation of Guangdong Province, migrantgirls account for up to 88 percent of sexual assault victims in some districts of Shenzhen,and left-behind girls account for up to 94 percent of victims in Huazhou.
Mentally-challenged girls face higher chances of sexual assault compared with other girls,the report said.
The issue of protecting girls from sexual assault was thrown into the spotlight in Chinaafter a number of rape scandals were revealed this year.
In May, a school principal and a local government employee from Hainan Province spent anight with primary school girls between the ages of 11 and 14, prompting public outragenationwide.
The report added that victims' lack of prevention awareness and knowledge as well as theirfear of being exposed have led to more sexual assaults within families and betweenneighbors, school teachers and students.
The report advocated more concern from nongovernmental sectors for girls lackingguardianship and strengthened education for children and their guardians to promotesexual assault awareness. （Editor：ZhangQian、Hongyu） Related reading
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