Violence and especially sexual violence against rural left behind girls is on the rise. Rural left behind girls have been left by their parents in rural areas while they go search for employment in urban areas. These girls do not have proper awareness of sexual violence or how to protect themselves, and with little or no guardianship are severely vulnerable to being taken advantage of. Rural left behind girls and migrant girls are China’s top two targeted groups for trafficking.

Women are often discriminated against and have difficulty accessing formal employment. Chinese women continue to receive lower pay than men for performing the same job, are more likely to work in the informal sector, and often confined to positions that are aligned with socially constructed gender roles.

Studies show higher numbers of women in parliament generally contribute to stronger attention to women’s issues. Women’s political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality. It facilitates women’s direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women. One of the pillars of UN Women’s work is advancing women’s political participation and good governance, to ensure that decisionmaking processes are participatory, responsive, equitable and inclusive. Efforts are focused through strategic entry points that can advance the status of women by catalysing wide-ranging, long-term impacts.