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China's first domestic violence law may include emotional or psychological abuse and cover cohabitation in order to protect traditionally silent abuse victims, a new draft reads.
According to the draft, which is up for a second reading at the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's bimonthly session, "[China] prohibits any form of domestic violence."
Domestic violence is defined as physical or psychological harm inflicted by relatives, including assault, injury, restraint or forcible limits on physical liberty as well as recurring verbal threats and abuse.
An earlier draft, submitted in August this year, included only physical abuse, but many lawmakers argued that the definition was too narrow, said Su Zelin, deputy director with the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee.
They also said that the law should cover cohabitation, Su said, hence, the second draft covered those who are not related but live together.
China does not have a specialized law on domestic abuse, and the issue has remained in the shadows as family conflict is considered an embarrassing private matter. As a result, victims are often afraid to speak out and, in many cases, are turned away by police.
Attitudes to domestic violence changed in 2011, when Kim Lee, wife of celebrity entrepreneur Li Yang, posted pictures of her bruised face on Sina Weibo and accused Li of assault. In 2013, Kim was granted a divorce, alimony and compensation on the grounds of domestic violence.
According to the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), nearly 25 percent of Chinese women have suffered violence in their marriage, but the federation receives only 40,000 to 50,000 complaints each year.
Victims who approach the ACWF for help are mainly women, children and the elderly, and 88.3 percent of cases in 2014 involved abuse by husbands of their wives, 7.5 percent by parents or a parent, and 1.3 percent by children.
Personal protection orders
According to the draft, victims and those in immediate danger can file for a personal protection order that the court must grant or deny within 72 hours. In urgent cases, decisions must be made the same day.
Police, women's federations and social service organs, in addition to close relatives, can apply for orders for those with none or limited civil capacity or those who cannot do so themselves as a result of physical force or threats.
Once the order is granted, courts can prohibit the abuser from harassing, stalking or contacting the applicant; order the abuser to move out of the home; or adopt various other measures to protect the applicant.
Should the abuser violate the protection order, they may be fined up to 1,000 yuan, detained for up to 15 days or face criminal charges in serious offences.
Protection for the vulnerable
The draft also sets out to enhance protection for particularly vulnerable groups: Minors, elders, disabled people, pregnant or breastfeeding women and the critically ill will all be entitled to special attention.
Police must notify civil affairs departments should they find that those with none or limited civil capacity have been harmed, or are under threat and are unattended, and escort them to temporary shelters, support services or welfare centers, the draft reads.
It also requires social workers, doctors and teachers, to report suspected abuse. Should they fail to do so, they will be held liable in cases with serious consequences together with those in charge of the institutions concerned and their superior organs. Police will protect the privacy of whistleblowers.
Still room for improvement
Lawmakers on Monday acknowledged that the second draft of the law is already a huge step forward from the previous version, but they want more.
In a two-hour panel discussion over the draft law held on Monday afternoon, at least five legislators voiced concerns over the lack of explicit reference to "sexual violence" in the new draft.
"Sexual abuse has become a prominent social problem [and] constitutes a great proportion of domestic violence, and it should be included in the new law," said legislator Zhang Ping.
He added that jurisdiction of the counterdomestic violence law should also cover "economic control."
"It is not entirely unheard of that people, in many cases women and elders, are stripped of personal freedom as a result of economic disparity between family members," Zhang said.
His words were echoed by lawmaker Dong Zhongyuan, who argued that the definition of domestic violence was still too abstract, and failed to communicate what constitutes abuse.
Xu Qian, deputy head of the NPC provincial committee in Fujian Province, meanwhile, said the counterdomestic violence law should be extended to apply to ex-spouses, too, quoting a court case in which a divorced woman incited her 13-year-old son, who is too young to be held criminal accountable, to kill her ex-husband who had stalked, beaten and raped her.
The ex-husband died in a car crash before they could fulfill the scheme.
