Women's groups aim to overcome domestic abuse dilemma

Legislation

On March 1, 2016, China enacted the Anti-Domestic Violence Law.

The legislation－a milestone in the country－stipulates that attacks on family members are a violation of their legal rights rather than private affairs.

Moreover, the State, society and the family share a collective responsibility to end such abuse.

Yet the frequent lack of punishment lets down vulnerable women, and they are likely to face another dilemma if they pluck up the courage to call the police.

In China, it is traditional to regard domestic violence as a family scandal, meaning many victims feel ashamed. That often discourages them from seeking help.

On average, women are attacked 35 times before they call the police, according to the All-China Women's Federation.

Li said: "The thinking and capabilities of relevant departments, including the courts, police forces and women's federations, have not kept up (with the times). If they have a poor understanding of the law, they are unable to take appropriate action."

Unofficial threshold

Theoretically, there are no conditions on the application of the law.

In reality, an unofficial threshold has been established that requires the victim to have been assaulted more than once or the blows must result in serious consequences, such as fractures at the very least.

This unofficial restriction has resulted in courts classifying only a small number of cases as domestic abuse.

The same applies to the issuance of protection orders intended to safeguard potential victims. Many judges are reluctant to issue such orders, Li said.

According to the Supreme People's Court, the country's top tribunal, despite the large number of cases of domestic violence, by the end of 2018, just 3,718 protection orders had been issued by courts nationwide from 5,860 applications.

Meanwhile, there is still no recognized format for written warning papers, legally binding documents that can be issued against attackers by the public security authorities.

The documents have proved effective in cases where the police do not consider the situation serious enough for administrative or criminal penalties. However, they are rarely served on assailants, and some areas have yet to issue any.

"These loopholes mean we still fail to take full advantage of the law," Li said.