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Male rape is now a crime in China

By Micah Sulit

Sexually assaulting a man is now a crime in China, after an amendment to the criminal law took effect yesterday, according to Xinhua news agency.

Criminal in handcuffs

The country’s top legislature passed the amendment in August, updating the law to say “indecent or sexual assault on others, men or women”. Previously, “others” only referred to female victims.

Male rape now carries a minimum sentence of five years behind bars.

In the past, it was difficult to punish sexual assault on men. When a security guard sexually abused a male colleague in 2010, he was convicted on a lesser charge, ‘intentional injury’, and sentenced to 12 months in jail.