Domestic violence in China involves abuse by family members or intimate partner against one another. Intimate partner violence is, however, the most prevalent type of domestic violence in China. A law prohibiting domestic violence was first enacted in China in 2015, albeit it excluded same-sex couples and failed to address sexual abuse. It also for the first time defined domestic violence. The issue of domestic violence had caused much public debate when Kim Lee posted pictures of her bruised face on social media and accused her spouse Li Yang of domestic violence. She later states to have reported the matter to the police who claimed that nothing had happened. The husband also admitted to having beat her but criticized her decision to discuss private matters in public. Traditional Chinese family dynamics placed women below the man, and any objection to this order was considered a dishonor until in the recent years (Goel & Goodmark, 2015).
Although the problem of domestic violence became acknowledged in the 1930s, it only started becoming visible in the 1980s due to the economic and social changes. The practice of wife-beating occurred regularly and appeared acceptable as a tool to assert male dominance. Women were expected to obey their father, husband and son. Confucianism considered wife-beating a mode of disciplining her although it advocated social harmony and peace. The household was considered a man’s domain, and thus any violence committed against the wife was seen as a private matter and often disregarded. Despite there being organizations such as All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), they did put much effort on issues of domestic violence during the mid-twentieth century (Merry, 2011). The materials referred to in this discussion highlight on various issues of domestic violence in China and the efforts made to address them. These issues are in line with the project topic that I have chosen
However, as China’s international presence increased and academic opportunities improved contributed to the strengthened efforts to address domestic violence especially violence against women. China’s involvement in U.N’s conferences that were geared towards addressing issues concerning women and family was also a large factor that led to the change. The Fourth World Conference on Women held in China in 1995, exposed Chinese activists to several international women’s organizations and allowed them to openly discuss the issue of domestic violence. This period also saw grassroots organizations such as Women’s Research Institute emerge and broke in a field of activism formerly occupied only by ACWF (Merry, 2011).
The increase in public awareness about domestic violence led to the initial studies about the issue. Studies by various organizations including the ACWF, reported rates ranging from 1.6% of women to a quarter of women were at some point being battered by their husbands. However, there were no studies to compare these figures before the 1980s thus making it difficult to make qualitative assessments. The first explicit mention of domestic violence was in the 1995 National Program for the Development of Women that called for the prioritization of prevention of domestic violence. Domestic violence had however been implicitly made illegal by various legal documents such as the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (Goel & Goodmark, 2015).
The Chinese traditional family setup had created an environment that enabled violence against women to thrive. Women had been denied a voice and domestic violence was normalized. However, improved education and increased exposure helped to change the script. Movements advocated for prevention of domestic violence emerged and were strengthened in their efforts. These efforts led to the explicit mention of the violence as a legal concern, and the issue was made to be of high priority. Women would now be legally protected against domestic violence, and such cases could no longer be disregarded as private matters.
References
Goel, R., & Goodmark, L. (2015). Comparative Perspectives on Gender Violence: Lessons from Efforts Worldwide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Merry, S. E. (2011). Gender Violence: A Cultural Perspective. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.