Call to help vulnerable women

After giving birth to a baby boy in a building in Shenzhen, a 19-year-old migrant worker killed him by throwing him out of the window. Young female migrant workers, without the protection of their families, are vulnerable to perils such as unwanted pregnancy. The Shenzhen incident should be a renewed call to society to come to the help of such vulnerable young women, says an article on scol.com.cn. Excerpts:

Xiao Wei, the woman who threw her newborn out of the window, came to Shenzhen less than a year as a young high-school graduate and is practically a child herself. Later, she said that she didn't know why she did such a horrific thing.

Young women such as Xiao are easy targets of crimes such as rape and human trafficking. Young women who have left the safety of their home in search of a better life in cities are a very vulnerable group. Such women easily fall victim to unscrupulous men because they don't know how to protect themselves.

Such tragedies are one of the consequences of China's fast urbanization, which has forced many young people to leave home before they are mature enough to understand the threats looming in the world beyond the safety of their families. They have little knowledge of what a casual physical relationship could lead to. And they have no idea that the world outside their home and school is full of lies, hostility and malice, and thus they become easy targets of anti-social elements.

Therefore, such women need proper guidance. Government agencies, and social welfare and non-governmental organizations should make more efforts to protect such women from harm and provide legal help to them if needed. Also, their employers should have made provisions to train them in a way that they can remain vigilant against potential dangers.