Shanghai draws red line against sexual offenders

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Authorities in Shanghai’s Minhang District have banned convicted sexual offenders from entering jobs involving juveniles, and requested local employers to cross-check recruits with a name database before hiring to better protect minors.

The ban went into effect last Friday.

According to the Minhang District People’s Procuratorate, the names of those convicted of sexual crimes during the past five years will be on the list, which will be shared with employers. Community employers, including educational and training institutions, medical services and recreation sites, are requested to check it before hiring and rule out those who pose a threat to children.

The approach has won public support, while some legal experts have suggested that it may breach the existing Amendment IX to the Criminal Law of China, causing many to serve an ethical penalty longer than “three to five years” prohibition from certain jobs.

Replying to the concern, the judiciary organ told media that the blacklist was an employment condition that put a barrier between groups to prevent certain risks, not just a prohibition.

The database, though, includes privacy policies. Searching an individual from the database will only retrieve a “match / not match” result. The design is intended to protect juveniles involved in sexual assault crimes in the past.

Zhang Chen, Minhang's deputy procurator general - who in 2016 handled a crime of indecency committed by a middle school teacher - suggested the criminal be prohibited from education-related jobs in accordance to criminal law. The case brought public attention to sexual assault cases involving juveniles and inspired the new employment approach.

According the China Foundation of Culture and Arts for Children (FCAC), 98 of the 433 disclosed sexual assault cases involving juveniles in 2016 were committed by practitioners of education-related jobs, including teachers, school bus drivers and security guards, etc.