The 17th China Charity Ranking was officially released in a ceremony held virtually on June 16, 2020. The Charity Ranking, which is organised annually by the China Charity Times (公益时报), aims at setting up examples for Chinese philanthropic organisations and promoting the idea of modern civil society, and it consists of an annual list of philanthropists and philanthropic organisations whose donations have exceeded RMB 1 million ($ 142,938.8). It also awards philanthropists, philanthropic organisations, foundations, philanthropic programs, celebrities working on charity projects and research reports on Chinese charities.
The program on girls’ protection was included in the “2020 Top Ten Charity Programs”. Sun Xuemei, who is in charge of the program, attended the conference and received the award.
When interviewed, Ms. Sun stated that more than 1.03 million children and 100,000 parents had been involved in the Girls’ Protection Program in 2019. Program volunteers included judges, legal prosecutors, academics and university students. Sun explained that programs for protecting girls have to be long-term and forward-looking, and must “change cultural and social perceptions; children’s protection and the construction of the culture of a society need to happen simultaneously.” The program hopes to raise awareness and educate the public about girls’ protection, and help protect children, especially girls, from sexual harassment and rape. By March 2020, the Girls’ Protection Program had been launched in 31 provinces across the country. It is calculated that over 3.72 million people, including more than 590,000 parents, have taken part.
The Program on Girls’ Protection was established on the 1st of June 2013, following numerous cases of sexual harassment and rapes of girls under the age of fourteen in the previous years. Special funding was set up for the program in 2015, and in 2018 the program team founded the Beijing Zhongyi Nonprofit Foundation and carried out public fundraising for girls protection. The program organised courses for children and parents and training sessions for volunteers. Webinars have also been held regularly, with millions of internet users taking part.
In addition to educating the public about girls’ protection, the program is pushing for improving regulations and legislation in China, and advocating for more transparent mechanisms of inquiry regarding cases involving sexual harassment and rapes of children and heavier penalties for these behaviours. It also publishes annual reports on educational programs to stop child sexual harassment and data about relevant cases.
