The United Nations, equal and inclusive society and crime prevention: Chinese philosophical contributions to the idea of sustainable development for women and children, and the current practice in China

Abstract

The difference between Chinese and Western legal thought in terms of concepts and methods into the question of crime prevention for women and children is very substantial. In Western criminology very little is known in this regard. The intersection of legal thoughts between one and the other world of science takes place more readily in environmental justice, among other social science fields. But in China's 42-century long and reclusive history among many feudalization and patriarchal policies, the treatment of women, regarded as inferior to men, has been one of the recurrent governance leitmotifs. More than twenty centuries ago, the idea of equal education and women's rights had emerged in Chinese traditional philosophy, especially through the "Hundred Schools of Thought" during the period of Spring and Autumn and the Warrior States pre-Qin dynasty. But, to some extent, the ruling class distorted the philosophical claims of that time, including Confucianism, which has been set up as the only one national philosophy since the other schools of thought had been abolished in the West Han dynasty, thirty centuries ago. The United Nations post-2015 sustainable development agenda strongly emphasizes that education for all and promoting an equal and inclusive society would contribute to reducing crime. Against the historical and United Nations background, this chapter highlights the relevant connotations of sustainable development in traditional Chinese philosophy and reinvigorates them in the interest of attaining some elements of the envisioned peaceful and inclusive societies in a culture-sensitive manner, with particular reference to crime prevention for women and children, and the respective legal domestic regulation.