Domestic violence in China has become a more visible issue in recent years, but the first law that specifically targets the problem was only passed in 2015. The main principles of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law are explicitly stated in Article 1: “to prevent and stop domestic violence; protect the equal rights of family members; preserve equal, harmonious, civilized familial relationships; promote family harmony and social stability.”
Unfortunately, the last objective directly contradicts with the first, which is the main issue leading to the law’s overall ineffectiveness.
Sources show that, in addition to abusers, witnesses, and victims, even law enforcement in China often dismisses domestic violence crimes as family affairs that reside outside the reach and realm of the law.
About one in four women in China are said to have experienced domestic violence. Infact, in some regions, wife-beating is a symbol of patriarchal power. Some men don’t think of it as something immoral and may even take pride in it.
About 157,000 Chinese women commit suicide per year, and in a 2016 study by the All-China Women’s Federation, 60 per cent of the cases were related family violence.
Considering the facts and the hidden stories of atrocities, it is no surprise to say that the country is lagging behind in gender equality.
China has to structurally modernize its deeply entrenched patriarchal culture as it remains an orthodox society that prizes harmony in the household, arising from Confucian patriarchy.