Behind Public Opinion: A Study on the Legislative Revision of the Crime of Child Abduction in China

Authors: Na J* and Ningyan Yang

DOI: 10.23880/ijfsc-16000418

Volume 9, Issue 4

Abstract

The crime of child abduction seriously infringes on the physical and mental health of minors, and also brings a devastating blow to the victim's family, which seriously violates the legal principles of protecting minors and protecting human rights, and should be severely punished by criminal law. However, the public opinion aroused by Wu's child abduction case reflects that the punishment result of the crime is contrary to social expectations. In judicial practice, there are blank charges for the crime of child abduction, resulting in different judgments in the same case; There is a mismatch between the severity of punishment and the harm to society; The current provisions do not cover issues such as complex circumstances in practice. Based on extraterritorial experience and legal analysis, this paper proposes to add a description of the crime to clarify the composition of the crime. Adjust and add aggravating circumstances such as "separating children from their families or guardians for a long period of time" and "committing acts such as slavery, abuse, or sexual exploitation after abduction", to form an orderly sentencing system to respond to complex judicial needs.

Keywords: Chinese Criminal Law; Child Abduction; Amendments to the Law

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