Women's groups aim to overcome domestic abuse dilemma

Despite a 2016 law, lenient punishments and a reluctance to prosecute mean attacks continue. Yao Yuxin reports.

In 2009, Dong Shanshan was beaten to death by her husband. Before the fatal attack, the 26-year-old Beijing resident had unsuccessfully tried every available option to end the domestic violence that had plagued her 10-month marriage.

She called the police eight times. She sued for divorce. She escaped to her parents' home to shelter. She twice ran away from family and friends in attempts to hide. None of these actions saved her life.

She faced increasingly severe beatings at home. During the fatal attack, her husband hit and kicked her all over her body, beating her so many times that he could not remember the number of blows when questioned by police.

With several fractured ribs and ruptured internal organs, Dong's abdomen was so full of blood that it swelled as though she had a full-term pregnancy. The doctor who treated her said it looked as if she had been assaulted by a gang.

Dong was so badly injured that she received considerable attention the minute she arrived at the police station. Nevertheless, when the officers heard that she had been attacked by her husband, they quickly changed their tune, according to Li Ying, a public interest lawyer and director of the Yuanzhong Gender Development Center in Beijing, who acted on Dong's behalf.

They told her to think carefully, because the complaint could send her husband to prison, and asked if she really wanted him to go to jail.

Li added that instead of allowing Dong to file an official report, the police urged her to go to the hospital and said the case could be discussed later. She added that Dong's condition deteriorated so rapidly that she lost her last opportunity to press for action, which led to lenient treatment of her husband.