The reason why trafficking of women is so rampant in China is the result of a collusion between a backward traditional culture and official inaction.
Significant gender imbalance
The serious imbalance in the ratio of men to women is the biggest reason why women are victims of human trafficking.
There are many reasons for the serious imbalance between men and women, and it is even the result of collusion between traditional culture and official policy: firstly, there is the cultural tradition of favouring men over women since ancient times. China is a Confucian country, where Confucianism preaches that “women follow their husbands” and the main task of Chinese women is to take care of their husbands’ families. At the same time, China is a traditionally patriarchal country with an old saying that “raising sons n for old age”; in China, only sons are considered to be the heirs of the family and only daughters mean that the family has fallen into disrepute. As a result, from ancient times to the present, there has been a great deal of female infanticide and abandonment of female babies in China, and there are even special places where female babies are thrown away, known as “Tower of baby girl’s body”. Secondly, the ‘One Child Policy’ was introduced in China in the 1870s. As a family can only have one child, traditional culture has made the Chinese more careful in choosing the sex of their babies, with most people choosing to have sons and aborting female babies to continue the so-called family lineage. While India also suffers from gender imbalance, the more serious cause in China is due to the one-child policy.
In 2021, the official communiqué of China’s seventh population census showed a sex ratio of 105:100, with men outnumbering women by about 33 million. This is particularly true in rural areas, where the sex ratio can reach 107:100.Although many women are forced into prostitution, most are purchased as brides. The massive decline in rural women has led poor rural male youths to hope to obtain a “wife” through a cheap sale, often for a few thousand RMB for a woman.
Government indifference
There are reasons for this official indifference: the inadequacy and lax enforcement of laws, the fear that unmarried men could threaten social stability, and the involvement of certain local officials even in the trafficking of women.
Firstly, there are many problems with China’s laws against trafficking in women and children. “Chinese law does not prohibit commercial sexual exploitation involving coercion or fraud, nor does it prohibit all forms of human trafficking.” Chinese law only recognises abduction as constituting a means of trafficking, but not other forms of coercion. Chinese law only recognises abduction as constituting a means of trafficking, but not other forms of coercion. Finally, Chinese law only provides for three years in prison for buyers of women and children, but this light sentence is rarely enforced.
Secondly, the majority of criminal plotters and murderers are unmarried men of low status. The scarcity of women can lead to a large number of men being unable to marry and have children to meet traditional Chinese social expectations, and sexual frustration and psycho-social vulnerability can converge on these men, making them violent and aggressive. The Chinese government believes that forced marriage as a result of trafficking in women can be a good solution to a situation where men at the bottom of the social ladder threaten social stability, and they take pressure off the government by sacrificing women. Says Chang Ping, a senior Chinese media personality.” In the hardest hit areas of women trafficking, it is common knowledge who has bought brides. But the government will not be concerned, and will even actively defend women’s trafficking networks.