Over 1,790 Chinese children have suffered from sexual assault in over 960 cases between 2013 and 2015, a latest report showed, arousing a renewed warning regarding protecting children from sexual abuse in China.

According to data from the China Foundation of Culture and Arts for Children, which set up a special fund for girls protection, cases where one individual was sexually assaulted numerous children have climbed to 28 percent in 2015 from 15.51 percent in 2014, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

Not only girls are being affected, boys are also being affected. Of the 340 reported cases in 2015, some 20 cases involved sexual assault against boys and over 60 boys were affected, the foundation data said.

Of the 503 reported cases in 2014, some 442 were made by the victims’ acquaintances, while that percentage in 2015 was about 70 percent while many were also conducted by teachers. Some 29 assault cases were conducted by the victims’ family members, the data added.

Wang Dawei, a professor at the Chinese People's Public Security University, said only one out of seven sexual assault cases, especially those against primary or high school students, could be brought to light – indicating many more children who kept their mouth shut in the face of the assaults, according to Xinhua.

Specifically, victims in rural areas tend to remain more silent than their urban counterparts. In a 2014 report made by the girl protection fund, the number of underage victims from cities reported was 409, while only 171 victims were counted in rural areas.

“It often ends up being the child’s fault when it comes to sexual assault …The victims chose not to speak up for fear that the society or even their family will criticize them,” Beijing-based lawyer Li Ying who has handled over a dozen or so similar cases told Xinhua.

Furthermore, a lack of supervision from school, inadequate sexual education and loopholes in a legal system that imposes no harsh punishment on violators also adds to the problem, Xinhua noted.

In a case where a kindergarten headmaster raped a young girl in northeast China’s Jilin province in 2015, the victim’s family only received 1,098 yuan ($166.8) for treatment and the local court ruled against furthermore compensation for psychological treatment, according to Xinhua.