Stopping Abuse At Home

By+Yin+Pumin

On March 8， Guo Jianmei， a Beijing-based lawyer and advocate for womens rights， welcomed the announcement of a legislative plan that she believes is a great boon to those suffering from maltreatment by family members.

That day， top legislator Zhang Dejiang announced that China will speed up the drafting of its first law against domestic violence this year. Zhang， Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， made the remarks during his delivery of a work report at the annual full session of the NPC.

“Non-governmental organizations and womens rights campaigners have called for the legislation for more than 20 years，” Guo said. “A specific law for dealing with domestic violence may check its widespread occurrence in China.”

According to a report released by the AllChina Womens Federation （ACWF） last year， nearly 40 percent of Chinese women who are married or involved in a relationship have been victims of physical or psychological abuse.

A 2010 survey by the ACWF and the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that 33.5 percent of girls and 52.9 percent of boys polled had received “physical punishment” from their parents in the previous 12 months.

Similarly， 13.3 percent of Chinese elders have suffered abuse at the hands of younger family members， according to a survey cited by Chinas national broadcaster CCTV last November.

The lack of a specific law has created difficulties for handling domestic violence proceedings within a legal framework， commented Yang Wanming， President of the No.1 Criminal Court of the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC）， Chinas highest judicial body.

“Some courts tend to regard maltreatment among family members as a private issue and refuse to accept such cases， while some cases that should be brought to court are treated as civil disputes，” Yang said.

Having been published for a month-long feedback process at the end of 2014， the first draft of the Law Against Domestic Violence is expected to be submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for the first reading in August， Fu Ying， spokeswoman for this years NPC session， told a press conference on March 4.

Law-based solution

The long-awaited law defines the scope of what can be considered crimes of domestic violence for the first time in Chinas history.

According to the draft， domestic violence refers to physical and psychological abuse perpetuated between family members including spouses， parents， children and other close relatives. Violence in families with adopted children has also been included.

Despite the long-term effect that experts have shown such abuse can have on its victims， domestic violence has remained in the shadows for a long time in China， where traditional culture holds that family conflicts are to be kept within the family and not made public. Only in recent years have the Chinese people begun to examine the issue.

The first national debate on the need for legislation targeting domestic violence happened in 1995， when the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing.

A condemnation of domestic violence was first written into the Marriage Law in 2001 and then into laws on the protection of minors and women， as well as the Criminal Law. Similar stipulations have also been added to the local regulations of 28 of Chinas provincial-level regions.

In 2011， a case involving a celebrity entrepreneur brought more public attention to the issue of domestic violence in China. On September 4 of that year， Kim Lee， wife of Li Yang who founded the hugely popular English learning program Crazy English， posted pictures of her bruised face on Sina Weibo， a Twitter-like microblogging service， and accused Li of abusing her. Many people were shocked and urged Kim to use the law to fight back.

Lis response was even more shocking. He admitted beating his wife but blamed her for breaking Chinese tradition and making family affairs public. In 2013， Kim was granted a divorce， alimony and compensation by a court in Beijing on the grounds of domestic violence.

Huang Qiao， a social worker in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， who has been helping female victims of domestic violence for three years， claimed that the issue is becoming more of a problem among the welleducated.

Moreover， many offenders can escape punishment because of the loopholes and vagueness in the existing legislation concerning domestic violence.

“The current laws and regulations concerning domestic violence are vague and not nearly adequate for solving real conflicts，” said Chen Aihua， head of Shenzhen-based Pengxing Domestic Violence Prevention Center. “China needs a law to address the issue head-on.”

According to the current provisions in Chinas Criminal Law， those found guilty of abusing family members under “serious circumstances” are sentenced to two years in jail or placed under criminal detention or surveillance. If their mistreatment causes the victims serious injuries or death， the abusers face sentences ranging from two to seven years.

However， Xue Shulan， Vice President of the No.1 Criminal Court at the SPC， admitted that there is little consistency in the sentences handed to abusers in domestic violence cases， because the Criminal Law does not explicitly define “serious circumstances.”

“Some local courts give a three-year sentence， some give 10 years， and some give a life sentence，” Xue said.

Better protection

The draft law stipulates that government， judicial and other concerned departments must provide medical treatment， legal aid and judicial assistance to victims， and should protect rights of victims in terms of property division and child custody should domestic violence lead to divorce.

As for juveniles or elderly who suffer from domestic abuse， welfare organizations， schools and medical institutions are required to report domestic abuse to the police when dealing with victims who lack the capability to report by themselves. Those whose failure to report in a timely manner leads to severe consequences will assume legal liabilities.

To effectively address domestic violence， the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate， the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice released guidelines for dealing with such cases on March 4， the first of its kind in China.

The guidelines state that offenders who abuse family members and cause serious injuries or death could be held guilty of intentional injury or intentional homicide， both of which may receive the death penalty. If there is compelling evidence that an offender does not intend to kill the victim， or the victim commits suicide because of the abuse， the offender could be convicted of abuse.

Long-time victims who end up killing their abusers could receive leniency， the guidelines noted.

The order to show leniency to long-time victims of domestic violence who kill their abusers “doesnt mean that we encourage women to solve domestic violence through violence，”said Yang with the SPCs No.1 Criminal Court， adding that they should first turn to the legal system to protect their rights.

According to the guidelines， the police should intervene immediately when domestic violence is reported and judicial organs should prosecute the abusers if victims are threatened or lack the capability to file lawsuits.

Further effort

However， some critics say that the draft law being considered is still far from enough.

Chen Wei is a lawyer specializing in resolving marital disputes in Beijing. According to her， the draft law doesnt provide adequate protection or legal aid for victims of mental anguish caused by a refusal to communicate by family members.

“For instance， one of my clients was seriously abused by her husband， who completely ignored her afterward and refused to discuss the matter，” Chen said. “This kind of ‘silent resistance—a refusal to acknowledge an offense has occurred and a lack of engagement with the victim—isnt addressed in the draft.”

She also proposes a clause in the new law to protect people in non-marital relationships， because the number of such cases is rising.

Yao Yue， Director of the Maple Womens Psychological Counseling Center， an NGO in Beijing， suggests that the new legislation should implement a wider range of practical measures to protect victims.

“Clarifying the punishment for abusers and the rights of the victims is just one part of the issue. We need more practical articles to encourage more social organizations to join the fight against domestic violence，” Yao said， adding that her organization will provide money to NGOs to help the victims of abuse.

“After a domestic violence offense is reported to the police， well-trained professionals should offer psychological help to both the abusers and victims. Timely intervention of this kind can reduce the mental anguish， and it should be written into the draft as a mandatory measure，” Yao added.

She also calls for more attention to factors that can lead to domestic violence. “What we need， in fact， is not just more legislation. We need to eradicate the problem at the source，”Yao added.