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December 16, 2014

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Legal changes coming to domestic abuse

By Wu Huixin | December 16, 2014, Tuesday | Print Edition

DOMESTIC violence has gained traction as an important issue that needs to be addressed both legally and socially. Spousal abuse has traditionally been considered a “family matter” across China and most victims have been too ashamed or afraid to step forward. In the past victims have had little legal protection and law enforcement officers have been hesitant to get involved. This is changing.

The central government is soliciting opinions on the draft of the country’s first law against domestic violence. The public is invited to read the draft on the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council website and express their thoughts about how to improve it.

For years China has lacked practical laws on family violence to protect victims. Nonetheless, the Hangzhou government has already taken steps to stamp out domestic violence. In 2010, the government stipulated the responsibilities of police, civil administration, health and family planning and education bureaus in handling family violence cases.

Under this initiative, police are expected to respond immediately to domestic abuse calls, civil affairs administrations are expected to provide aid to victims and related local government departments are expected to allocate financial subsidies, build shelters and handle other tasks.

Along with that regulation, the Preventing and Stopping Family Violence Committee, consisting of public security departments, was established within the Hangzhou Women’s Federation.

According to city statistics, 949 family violence cases were reported to the federation and police since the regulation was passed in 2010.

“The campaign against domestic violence has gathered momentum due to the 2010 regulation,” said Xian Cuixia, a department chief of the Hangzhou Women’s Federation. “More brave women are taking a stand and accusing their husbands of domestic abuse.”

Since August, the federation has been working with the public security bureau’s 110 Command Center to handle family violence complaints. When police finish a case, the federation begins follow-up assistance to offer legal aid and psychological counseling to victims.

“The best way to protect yourself when suffering domestic violence is reporting to the police as soon as possible,” Xian said. “A police investigation and the evidence they obtain help victims if they later decide to file for a divorce.”

In the meantime, Hangzhou is drawing on the experience of Wenzhou in southern Zhejiang Province to fight against domestic violence. Wenzhou Longwan Court is one of the nine experimental courts in the country testing a physical protection decree for family violence victims.

The decree protects a woman from spousal abuse for three months and covers the period in which she has filed for divorce or is suing her husband. It states that if a spouse physically abuses his or her partner during this period then he or she would be fined and face legal punishment. After the three months expire, the divorce or lawsuit should be finalized and any violence that occurs after this point would be subject to other laws.

Protecting victims is also one of the highlights of the central government’s draft law. It states that victims could turn to local governments for temporary shelter and ask a court for physical protection before filing a lawsuit or pressing charges.

Under the draft, all civilians have the right to stop domestic violence and report it.

Organizations including schools, welfare institutions and medical facilities are expected to report to police if they become aware of a domestic violence case. If serious consequences occur due to negligence, they can be held legally accountable, according to the draft law.

“That is vitally important for the handicapped, elderly and juveniles who don’t have the ability to resist domestic violence,” Xian said. “We can all help victims suffer less if we report cases to the police.

“Our society should learn from Western countries in that we have a responsibility to report domestic abuse cases to police immediately even if the victim is a stranger,” Xian added.

Meanwhile, the draft also has clauses on emotional abuse, a part of domestic violence long neglected.

A survey by the All-China Women’s Federation has found 25 percent of divorces are caused by emotional abuse.

“Any type of family violence in a household has a negative impact on children, but emotional abuse hurts more than physical abuse,” Xian said. “We urgently need to legally define emotional abuse.”

The draft also covers violence occurring between adoptive parents and children.

According to a survey from the All-China Women’s Federation in 2002, 16 percent of female respondents said they have suffered domestic violence while 14.4 percent of male respondents admitted they have beaten their wife.

The public wrongly considers domestic violence as something that happens in families in rural areas that are not very well educated, Xian said, adding about half of spousal abuse cases occur in well-off families who are educated.

Things are slowly changing for the better.

Rising media coverage of family abuse cases has increased awareness and more women are standing up to protect their rights.

“The traditional Chinese family concept means people usually considered domestic violence a family matter and most were too ashamed to let others know about what was happening,” Xian said. “But this is changing, especially among young women. Those born in the 1980s are aware of how to protect themselves. And through various public awareness campaigns in the past few years, middle-aged and older women are also increasingly willing to come forward and report cases of spousal abuse.”

Hangzhou


 

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