Problem, Progress & Proposal:
Domestic Violence against Women in China
Song Yueping, Renmin University of China
International workshop on Feminist Economics in China and India
New Delhi, India, 11-12/11/2013
Domestic violence against wives in
China
 In traditional Chinese families, violence, especially beating is a
common practice, to make the wife obedient.
 Traditional Chinese women’s social and family status can be clearly
depicted in the Chinese aphorisms:
“Beating is love, and scolding is intimacy. 打是亲，骂是爱
“A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more you beat the better they are.” 打出来
的老婆揉出来的面.
VAW is the typical manifestation of gender stereotypes and masculine social norms,
which will induce higher morbidity and mortality among women.
The progress in new century……
 While in China, VAW was quite a issue of
privacy, and the female victim of abuse could
hardly get the social and law support before
2000.
 “An impartial judge will find himself
worthless in hearing a case of domestic
disputes”清官难断家务事。
 In 2001, a famous TV play in China ”Don’t
Respond to Strangers- Domestic Violence” was
popular, and brought the VAM to the public
awareness of the cost of tolerance of VAW. It is
SILLY to keep silent toward VAW.
Progress on Domestic Violence in recent years
----National law and policy process
 Local branches of ACWF began anti DV legal initiatives after Beijing
Conference 1995.
 2001 Marriage Law amended to include a law outlawing domestic
violence/2005 LRIW amended – remedial measures included.
 In 2008, seven ministries including the Supreme People's Procuratorate,
Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice, and ACWF jointly
formulated the “Several opinions on Preventing and Stopping Domestic
Violence” which stipulated the responsibility of all departments in
preventing and treating domestic violence.
 Both the National Plan of Action for Women and Children (2001-2010)
and the Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010) mention curbing VAW as
one of their priorities.
Progress on Domestic Violence in recent years
 All the laws and policies mentioned above do not work at operation level,
and there is not a national Domestic Violence Law yet in China (Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress put it into the their plan
recently ).
 2008 – Guide for Supreme People’s Court issued on domestic violence
and “protection orders” mechanism , attempting to adopt a protective order
system in domestic violence cases, and had set up pilot in various cities
with positive effects.
 Then, quickly, More than 3000 collegiate panels for VAW had been set up
till 2010, mostly with female judges and juries from ACWF.
 And anti-DV social networks, pilot hospital intervention in recognition of
VAW as health issue, policeman interventions, shelters for victims…….
 As a result, the prevalence of VAM reduced, and the accessibility of
succor for victims keeps increasing.
The famous example 'Crazy English' founder accused of
domestic violence in 2011.
Li Yang’s wife, Kim Li, American resident, brought a suit against Li
Yang for beating in 2011 in Beijing, and in Feb, 2013, won the suit.
Current Situation
 According to latest survey, the Lower
prevalence of VAW, especially physical
abuse like beating and sex abuse.
 While big difference across rural-urban\
different regions.
Women from rural\ midwest areas\with lower
education \lower income are more vulnerable
to DV.
In 2000, the cwss 2 only measured the prevalence of beating and
sexual abuse, reflecting the limitation of understanding of AVM
at that time.
In 2010, the cwss 3 measured 6 types of DV, including beating,
sex abuse, verbal abuse, ignorance, financial control and physical
control.
There is a sharp decrease in AMV in China during the past 10
years, in 2000, 22.5% married women had been beaten by
spouses, and in 2010 only 5.4%; the sex abuse rate dropped from
10.8% to 1.7%.
 How to understand the effect of women’s economic empowerment
on DV?
 Specifically, as a manifestation of EE of women, how does land
right act in protecting women from DV?
The Evolution of Rural Land Policy in Recent 30 Years:
longer tenure.
1998：Land tenure
was extended to 30
years in the second
contract round.
1978：The
HRS established,
rural household
could claim to
land use rights
based on person,
everyone have
land right.
2003：Rural Land Contract Law “the
nation guarantees the land tenure
stability”, “within the tenure, the large
land adjustments are prohibited”.””
1984：15 years land tenure. Locally land
shares were frequently adjusted according to
demographic and marriage changes.
1983：The first round of national
contract land allocation implemented.
Gender implications of land reform
 “land will not be increased even if household member increases, and
land will not be reduced even if household member die or married
out ”during the tenure.
 Under the traditional social norms of patrilocal marriage system, longer
and stable land tenure will impair women’s land right potentially.
Married women：could not get land in
husband’s home in short run, and hardly get
revenue from her land quota in native family.
Divorced/Widowed：could not bring the land
when left the family.
Unmarried women：girls get less land quota
than boys especially who were expected to get
married around the reallocation of land, as they
are expected to move out from the home.
Women are
encountered with
higher and higher risk
losing land due to
marriage
Women’s Landlessness under Rural Land Policy
Scheme
 Big difference among women married during
different periods.
Data:
Increasing proportion of “do not have a land bringing revenues”
The reasons why do not have a profitable
land:
Expropriat
ed without
refund, 5%
Lose after
marriage,
7%
The DV occurrence is little higher for the women losing land
right after marriage
Beat
Verbal abuse
Beat/verbal
Entitled to profitable land
8.5
18.8
31.4
Entitled, but no revenue
9.2
18.1
36.2
Lose directly due to marriage
9.4
18.4
33.5
Never have land
7.0
15.3
30.9
Expropriated
9.5
15.8
26.3
Total
8.5
18.8
31.7
（1）
Verbal abuse
（2）
Beat
（3）
Beat/verbal
OR
S.E
OR
S.E
OR
S.E
Entitled, but no revenue
1.259
0.317
1.187
0.384
1.435*
0.296
Lose directly due to
marriage
1.310
0.229
1.487*
0.325
1.265*
0.180
Never have land
0.980
0.183
1.144
0.280
1.180
0.172
Expropriated
0.410
0.330
0.303
0.313
0.393
0.237
Entitled to profitable land
Empirical finding:
①
Due to changing land policies and patriarchy, patrilocal norms,
proportion of women losing land increased rapidly.
②
While losing entitlement to a profitable land could increase
women’s risk being abused.
Policy implication:
The land right of
the married women
should be protected
Long run
Currently
The household land quota should be allocated
based on the actual number of the residing family
in the new round of land distribution.
In the urbanization process, women without land
should also be refunded due to land expropriation,
especially for women who remain land in their
native families, the refund should be paid directly
to those married out women’s own bank account,
not the household.
16
Profile of Economic Empowerment of Women in China beyond
land:
90.0
Opportunity
Off-farm
employment
80.3
80.0
71.3
70.0
59.5
60.0
50.0
Income
42.1
58.6
40.3
40.0
30.0
Economic
Empowermen
t
20.0
Land
entitlement
10.0
0.0
house
Asset control
House/apart
ment
Independent
bank
account
bank account
Male
Female
off-farm work
Women’s economic empowerment can
prevent ADV to some extent
Compared with those economically deprived women, women with off-farm job,
entitled with a house, and with personal back account are a little better off.
SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:
 Current momentum around women’s economic empowerment offers huge scope
for bringing about real changes in women’s lives in China.
 But earning an income or having access to economic resources cannot be assumed
to bring automatic benefits for women.
 How increased EE can be translated into changes in the life that women are able
to make – at least at household level? (calls for more specific and accurate
survey and research )
 And what are the impacts of women’s greater access to resources on gender
relations and social norms more broadly?
Anti-domestic Violence poster in
China: not let the DV destroy your
family.
Poster of anniversary of the day for
elimination of violence against
women : say no to DV, and cherish