Loopholes in legislation cause rise in domestic violence incidents in China

Beijing [China], September 9 : The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an excessive rise in cases of domestic violence across several provinces of China due to loopholes in draft laws of the country which failed to cover couples who were divorced, unmarried, or in same-sex relationships.
In 844 divorce cases without compensation claims, Chinese courts supported claims of domestic violence in 54 cases only, whereas in 346 cases, judges did not respond to such claims at all, Hong Kong Post reported citing a recent study by Beijing Qianqian Law Firm made startling revelations about domestic violence.
In over 244 cases, judges also determined that the alleged assault never occurred and credited the situation to sufficient evidence.
The study also found that, of 94 cases where plaintiffs accused their partners of violating "personality rights" by inflicting violence on them, however courts supported the claims in just 15 cases.
Moreover, the main reason behind the ineffective laws is the failure to protect the equal rights of family members and thus the harmony of the family. More than 13,000 people, primarily women, have reportedly used the domestic violence help service for help, according to Hong Kong Post.
Time and again, several activists have pointed out the shortcomings in the Chinese laws regarding domestic abuse. The enforcement of the laws have hardly seen a light.
Feng Yuan, the co-founder of Beijing Equality, a non-government group, also pointed out shortcomings in the laws.
"Outside courts, there are wide discrepancies in how local police officers handle reports of domestic abuse," Yuan said and added that there's "a lack of empathy" among some of its employees, who are not motivated enough to provide help to victims.
China is coming to grips with domestic violence, and the judiciary is taking up measures to combat the menace after a series of high-profile cases recently highlighted the plight of domestic violence victims, sparking nationwide outrage.
Way back in 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Third Survey of Social Status of Women said 24.7 per cent of women in the 20-64 age group experienced domestic violence in various forms. Women's support groups on average received between 40,000 and 50,000 complaints of domestic violence annually.
Moreover, for China's ruling Chinese Communist Party, women have long been little more than a welfare benefit that can be distributed to men and employed as a tool for the regime to maintain "familial harmony, social (and thereby political) stability."
Women are certainly not encouraged to awaken -- purportedly the result of "infiltration by foreign forces" -- to engage in rebellious agitation and destabilize long-standing male dominance, let alone do or say anything that the CCP perceives as a threat to its continued existence.
However, as education, awareness and employment make their way across the country, more and more women are speaking up about domestic violence. It has elevated to a national concern in recent years.