The move follows a number of reports claiming that sexual harassment is a
widespread problem in China.
A national survey of 8,000 women, carried out by Sina.com and Chat magazine,
found 79% of female respondents had experienced sexual harassment - compared to
22% of men.
'Suffering in silence'
Meanwhile, 40% of women working for private or foreign firms had been targets
of harassment compared to 18% of those in state-owned companies, a study by the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found.
Experts suggest many women have suffered in silence, since the country has no
explicit law to deal with the problem.
According to Xinhua, since 2001 just 10 cases of sexual harassment have been
brought before the courts and only one case had been proved.
"The provisions, which were newly added in the Law on Women's Right Protection
to save women from sexual harassment, filled the legal gap in women's rights
protection," said Professor Wu Changzhen of China University of Political
Science and Law. Mr Wu is also a member of the legal team drafting the current
changes.
The changes were submitted to Beijing following a meeting of lawmakers on
Sunday.
As well as banning harassment, the new laws also call on all companies and
government agencies to take steps to prevent the occurrence of such cases.
However, experts have warned it could be some time before the changes take
effect because studies have shown women find it difficult to broach the
subject.
Xinhua, BBC
