REMEMBERING FREEDOM: A teacher at a welfare home in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, on November 10, 2009, spends time with a child who has been rescued after being abducted and needs time to recover (LIU XU)

December 2009's 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen saw a larger focus on social gender issues. The United Nations Development Fund for Women worked with other UN organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to explore issues surrounding gender equality and climate change.

It was encouraging having the voice of women heard and the issue of gender equality discussed in the climate summit. It's incumbent on the international community to raise the status of women and achieve gender equality. But the realization of rights will never come unless people fight for them, which is again proven by the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

It's never too much to emphasize that climate will mean more influence for women, who will play a bigger role in responding to climate change. The rising social status and capability of women will increase their ability to react to climate change.

Equality

In December 2009, a hearing was held in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, to discuss a local regulation whose goal is to promote gender equality.

The draft said that the government should create a gender analysis system to help make public policies, and that the government budget should be considered through a gender lens to better distribute resources equally. The draft is expected to be included in the city's legislation plan.

Though the details of the draft have yet to be revealed to the public, the pioneering concepts of including gender considerations in public policy decisions and auditing to ensure a more equal local distribution of resources stand out even in the global context.

Sexual abuse

In November 2009, a Guangzhou court ruled that a Japanese company executive must pay punitive damages to a female employee for sexually abusing her.

Her superior molested the woman during a year-end gathering in December 2008. She complained to the company's general manager and asked for a formal apology and a promise that she would never again be attacked. The company held a meeting to deal with the issue but nothing came of it. Two weeks after the meeting she was dismissed from the company on the grounds that she was absent from work for too many days.

In March 2009, the victim brought the company to court and demanded an apology and 400,000 yuan ($58,823) in compensation.

The court ruled that the defendant had violated the victim's rights and caused mental anguish and that 3,000 yuan ($441) be paid to the woman.

It's a hard and common problem to protect victims' rights when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse. The success of this case is encouraging as the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women is being used, which is rare in China. The case proves that such a law can be effective in judicial practice.

But there are still problems lurking in this case. The $441 compensation is far from the damage that the victim suffered and poses no serious punishment for the violators. Compensation should be raised to protect victims' interests and demonstrate the whole society's resolution to fight against sexual abuse.

Furthermore, the company was exempted from punishment as the court held that it had done its part to set up certain mechanisms to avoid such molestations. But in-depth media coverage told another story. The standards and regulations that the company uses to prevent abuse should be clarified.