Child-Friendly Justice in China’s Criminal Proceedings: Procedural Safeguards for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Criminal procedure in China, as in many jurisdictions, is largely modelled on adult competence. This poses particular difficulties for child victims of sexual abuse. This article examines the procedural safeguards available to such victims in Chinese criminal proceedings and identifies barriers to their implementation. The analysis is doctrinal and comparative, drawing on international human rights instruments, Chinese statutory law, judicial interpretations, and published empirical studies. The article finds that three procedural requirements—respect, participation, and protection—derive from the best-interests principle as the normative foundation of child-friendly justice. These are synthesised from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the jurisprudence of the UN Committee. In Chinese practice, these requirements are obstructed by adult-centric judicial reasoning, evidentiary obstacles, and institutional coordination failures, as evidenced by white papers, judicial decisions, and field studies. The article concludes that procedural reform must redefine the child victim as an active rights-bearing subject, while balancing the defendant’s right to confrontation and the child victim’s protective interests. This redefinition is grounded in the two-stage best-interests assessment framework and comparative experience with pre-recorded cross-examination and Barnahus models.