Sanctuary in Shanghai offering protection to children

Ting Ting is 15 years old. Her daughter Mei Mei was born 13 months ago. The father of the baby was sentenced last month to more than 10 years in prison on charges of rape and homicide.

Both mother and baby, who live at Xiaoxiwangzhijia, a Shanghai-based non-governmental organization dedicated to juvenile protection and care, exemplify a juvenile protection system in China that advocates say is seriously wanting.

There is no specific national law on the welfare security of children, and what regulations do exist are difficult to implement and often ignored.

"In China, maltreating children is very common because parents know nothing can be done if they don't give up guardianship," said Li Shilai, a worker at Xiaoxiwangzhijia. "They believe children are their personal property and they can do whatever they want with them."

Ting Ting's parents are migrant workers in a factory in Jiangsu Province. She and a younger brother were raised by grandparents in Sichuan Province, far from their parents, until the grandmother died.

The pair was reunited with their parents in Jiangsu. Ting Ting was forced to go out and work to help support the family.

The young girl found a job in a hotpot eatery, and then got involved with a co-worker who forced her to go with him to his hometown in a mountainous region of Yunnan Province and treated her with physical abuse. She got pregnant.

Ting Ting ended up at Xiaoxiwangzhijia, where she lives with her daughter in a three-story building rented by the organization on Dushi Road in Minhang District.

The group relies on donations to survive — donations of clothing, books, toys, baby items and money. There is no air conditioning on sweltering summer days.

Ting Ting is polite but timid. Her eyes light up only when the conversation turns to her baby.

"I gave her life, so I must try my best to take care of her," she said.

Starve to death

In another room of the building, a 4-month-old child Wen Ling sleeps soundly.

He has been diagnosed with spina bifida and other congenital problems. Volunteers learned of his plight from online posts alleging that his parents were hoping he would starve to death.

Li said he tracked down Wen Ling and found that the baby hadn't eaten for three days. He finally persuaded the parents to sign an agreement transferring the boy's guardianship temporarily to the organization. Doctors held out little hope for Wen Ling's survival.