Shanghai to Restrict Employment of Sex Offenders

This article originally appeared on our sister website, Urban Family Shanghai.

By Urban Family

In order to protect children from criminals, Shanghai has introduced a new regulation to prevent sex offenders from working in certain occupations, reports The Paper.

According to the new law, applicants for jobs that require working with children must go through a background check. These positions include teachers, doctors, caregivers, security guards, janitors, drivers, volunteers and many more.

Apart from running background checks on job applicants, certain companies are also being asked to investigate the records of current employees. If any red flags are found, staff members will be dismissed.

Applicants, including expatriates, convicted of sexual crimes are required to hand over their own records to companies or agencies. The records should be kept confidential so that they will not impact eligibility for positions that do not involve minors.  

The regulation has been put in place to protect children and to limit the access of those with a history of sexual crimes to children in Shanghai. Research has shown that prior offenders are likely to commit the same crimes again.

READ MORE: Shanghai Sex Offenders Database to Provide Further Protection for Children

Similar measures were first trialed in Minhang district of Shanghai back in 2017. Apart from restricting sex offenders from specific jobs, the district also set up a blacklist of sex offenders. By the end of 2018, the district had cross-referenced over 15,000 employees.

At last year’s Two Sessions, various representatives and committee members advocated the expansion of the new law across the city. As a result, the regulation was finally introduced in April. Signed by a total of 16 organizations, the regulation will be executed and supervised by agencies including the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate, Shanghai Higher People’s Court, Shanghai Public Security Bureau and Shanghai Education Commission.

[Cover image via Pexels]

This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family Shanghai. For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website, or follow the Urban Family WeChat account (ID: urbanfamilyshanghai).