Since July 2001,more than 10 sexual harassment-related civil cases appeared in Chinese mainland. Most of the plaintiffs lost the lawsuits having experienced difficulties in legal procedures,which directly resulted from the absence of anti-sexual harassment clauses in China’s civil substantive and procedural laws. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women’ Rights Interests amended in 2005 stipulates clearly that sexual harassment against women is prohibited. But it’s still far from enough. China’s civil law should adopt protective clauses to enable plaintiffs to launch lawsuits and to offer legal basis for the court to handle such cases. Therefore,learning from international community and other countries’ legislation and judicial practice,anti-sexual harassment clauses should be included in China’s civil law,labor law and civil procedural law especially by taking full consideration of China’s history and cultural tradition. Judicial interpretation by the Superior People’s Court can perhaps be the first step for China to adopt legislation against sexual harassment.
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