Kim Lee, wife of Crazy English language school founder Li Yang, tries to settle her divorce with her husband in court in Beijing on December 15. Both parties agreed to the divorce.

A panel of more than a dozen experts on sexuality, gender studies and sociology held their 4th annual discussion about the year's 11 most important sex related issues on December 11.

The issues discussed have captured the public's attention over the past year, and have stirred heated debates especially on microblogs. The aim of the round-table discussion is to raise public awareness of such issues and to promote sexual rights and gender equality.

Following the discussion, the panel released a statement saying that the three most important topics of the year are sex education, treatment of the LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, and domestic violence.

Controversial sex education

A persistent issue over the years has been sex education in schools, Fang Gang, director of Institute of Sexualities and Gender Study at Beijing Forestry University, who hosted and organized the panel discussion earlier this month, explains in the statement. 

Sex is a common topic in today's society, but it is still difficult to promote sex education. Some educators advocate celibacy, which shows some adults keep their heads in the sand and ignore the sexual maturity of teenagers and the need for sex education, the panel's statement read.

In August, a trial sex-ed textbook for primary school students in Beijing with cartoons depicting sexual intercourse and text explaining the process of conception was published.

Some people accused the textbook of being overly explicit and even called it pornographic, and many parents were concerned that it might negatively influence the kids.

Public discussion on the issue mostly focused on sexual physiology, while the fact the textbooks also teach children about self protection, respect and responsibility, as well as gender equality was overlooked.

"Although there has been a heated debate in the media, we have not really asked the children what kind of sex education they want or need," said Hou Wenjun, a teacher at the Center of Sexuality and Gender Education in Beijing. Hou said she was struck by how much kids today know about sex compared to the past.

In a related case, more than 20 high school students in Shanghai were caught for exchanging sex for money. The media pounced on the issue, reprimanding the girls involved for being too materialistic and lacking morals.

"Teenagers have sexual rights, and we should not take that away from them," said Fang. "Instead of criticizing the girls, we should realize it is society's responsibility to teach them how to properly use their rights and protect themselves."

Active LGBT community

According to the panel, compared with previous years, this year the LGBT community has had a stronger voice. The most notable instance was the battle of words between the LGBT community and celebrity couple Lü Liping and Sun Haiying.

In June the couple forwarded a microblog post that described being gay as "sinful" and also encouraged other Web users to repost such messages.

The LGBT community, with the support of other celebrities, fought back, demanding apologies and calling for a boycott of the actor couple's movies. 

"It was the first time so many LGBT groups have come together to voice their opinion," said Wei Jiangang, a documentary filmmaker and gay rights advocate. "It's also the first time many in mainstream media have shown support for this community."

"Fourteen years ago I asked a gay man in his 30s when he thought people would be able to talk about gays in the open," recalled Fang."He answered, not in his lifetime, and probably not even in his son's generation."

"Today we hear the gay community speaking up for itself all the time," he said.

Indeed the gay community has been active in recent years, hosting gay pride festivities and anti-discrimination campaigns. But the sub-culture has not been fully recognized.

In June, the Queer Film Festival, organized by LGBT groups since 2001, was called off by authorities in Beijing. In another case, Jin Xing, a dancer, was barred from appearing on a reality show for being a transgender.

Domestic violence

The expert panel also honored Kim Lee, wife of Crazy English language school founder Li Yang, for speaking up against domestic violence.

"Her dedication helped promote a public understanding of domestic violence and its disastrous consequences," read the announcement.

In August, Kim posted pictures on her Weibo microblog of her bruised knees, swollen forehead and bleeding ears after having been beaten by Li. She called the police, who were sympathetic and willing to help but did not know how, due to the lack of clearly executable laws on domestic violence.

"I understand what Chinese women go through to fight domestic violence," said Kim. "That's why I wanted to step up."

"I want to tell all those women, you have nothing to be embarrassed about," said Kim, who had to repeatedly tell her story to the police and the media.

Li later admitted in various interviews to have beaten Kim but showed no remorse over the abuse, also telling the media that their marriage was a mere experiment.

"Some of the things he said in later interviews hurt me and my kids more," said Kim, who has filed for divorce.

A study by the China All Women's Federation shows domestic abuse occurs in almost 30 percent of families and most victims are women.

For years experts have been calling for the establishment of domestic violence laws, but progress has been slow, the statement read. It added that the current laws and regulations only include provisions against domestic violence and it is very difficult for victims to receive help or begin legal proceedings.

According to the panel, whether the issue is homophobia or sex education, conventional boundaries are clearly being pushed, and this is a positive thing.

Although Chinese society still has plenty of room to improve in terms of sexual diversity and gender equality, the fact that these issues are being discussed openly, shows that tolerance is increasing overall, it said.