"Domestic violence" is not a simple family affair, and has long since risen to the law.
According to the 2021 legislative work plan mentioned in the work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests will be revised. This year's SPC work report also clearly mentions that the prevention and control of domestic violence should be explored and extended to situations such as pre-marriage, post-divorce and mental violence.
On March 1, 2016, China's first anti-domestic violence law, the Anti-Domestic Violence Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Domestic Violence Law), was promulgated, and it has been in force for five years. Its emergence has changed people's views on "domestic violence" as a domestic affair in the past, so that the perpetrators of domestic violence no longer have no fear, and the victims of domestic violence have improved the protection of their rights and interests. He Xiaorong, vice president of the SPC, said in his interpretation of the SPC work report that from 2016 to 2020, the national court system issued a total of 7,918 personal safety protection orders. In the past five years, the people's courts have effectively curbed the occurrence of domestic violence by issuing timely personal safety protection orders.
Although the Anti-Domestic Violence Law has been in place for five years, many women still experience domestic violence. Statistics from the All-China Women's Federation show that 24.7% of families in China still have different degrees of domestic violence, and victims of domestic violence have to suffer an average of 35 times before choosing to call the police. In order to build a wall against domestic violence, Peng Jing, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the chief lawyer of Chongqing Jingsheng Law Firm, called for raising awareness of domestic violence and realizing that economic control, abandonment, and verbal violence are all domestic violence that is easy to ignore. At the same time, some lawyers have called for more places to establish legislative protection for minors who witness domestic violence.
CppcC National Committee member Peng Jing
The "anti-domestic violence" call in the voice of the "two sessions"
The voice of a lawyer and commissioner: economic control, verbal violence, etc. are all domestic violence that is easy to ignore
Peng Jing, the chief lawyer of Chongqing Jingsheng Law Firm, as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of the Women's Federation, continues to pay attention to the social issues of safeguarding the rights and interests of women and children in the proposal of the national "two sessions" every year.
In the future, China's requirements for improving the system of anti-domestic violence have made Peng Jing feel very pleased. She pointed out that in the draft "14th Five-Year Plan", "strengthening family building" was listed separately for the first time, which required more efforts to strengthen the implementation of the anti-domestic violence law; the SPC work report called for the establishment of an anti-domestic violence linkage mechanism, which will greatly promote the protection of women's rights and interests in China.
At this year's national "two sessions", Peng Jing specifically mentioned that economic control, abandonment, verbal violence and other easily overlooked forms of domestic violence are also worthy of attention. At the same time, in addition to paying attention to the domestic violence between husband and wife, Peng Jing also called for legislation to protect minors who witness and encounter domestic violence. She has publicly stated: "There are not a few minors who have encountered and witnessed domestic violence, and I hope to speed up the family education legislation and create a good family atmosphere for their healthy growth." ”
Peng Jing, 53, has been a lawyer for more than 30 years. Over the years, she has focused on the cause of opposing domestic violence and safeguarding the rights and interests of women and children. Since Peng Jing began to take over the divorce commission in 1992, she has paid attention to domestic violence-related cases. Since more than 20 years ago, Peng Jing's law firm has established the Ministry of Marriage and Family Affairs. Anti-domestic violence has become an important issue in Peng Jing's career.
"But at that time, many women still had no concept of domestic violence, and there was no complete legal basis for anti-domestic violence." Peng Jing pointed out in an interview with Red Star News that in the past, domestic violence victims often forgave the abuser in intimate relationships, resulting in their own lives in resentment and anger, which not only brought personal and spiritual lasting harm to themselves but also to their children.
In order to promote the protection of women's rights and interests, in 2012, Peng Jing, together with the Chongqing Women's Federation and the Women's Lawyers Association, jointly initiated the establishment of the "Chongqing Women's and Children's Rights Defense Lawyers Group" and served as the head of the group, and began to provide legal publicity, professional consultation, legal aid and other services for women and children in need of help.
reality:
Domestic violence is difficult to obtain evidence, resulting in some victims swallowing their anger or "countering violence with violence"
In March 2016, with the official implementation of China's Anti-Domestic Violence Law, Peng Jing's domestic violence cases gradually increased. From experience, she found that in domestic violence cases, most of the victims are women, and in the process of domestic violence rights protection, it is often because of the concealment of domestic violence that makes it very difficult to collect evidence.
"Violence between family members is inherently hidden, especially when subjected to cold violence or mental harm, and evidence is more difficult to collect." Peng Jing said that so far many victims have not dared, unwilling and will not take the initiative to collect evidence. In addition, Peng Jing pointed out that some women will choose the wrong method of "countering violence with violence" in the face of domestic violence, which eventually leads to both defeats and injuries, and they are also imprisoned.
"First of all, we must realize that domestic violence can use legal means to protect rights, and secondly, we must know how to correctly protect rights, and swallowing anger and countering violence with violence are not feasible methods." Peng Jing said.
In addition to the difficulty of collecting evidence, Peng Jing also proposed: "The form of identification of domestic violence by victims is not complete enough. As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Peng Jing found in the course of performing her duties that in addition to the traditional sense of "punching and kicking", including economic control, abandonment, language violence and other acts in family life, it is more likely to become a neglected form of domestic violence, and it is more difficult than other cases in the collection of evidence and conviction.
After seeing that the SPC work report specifically mentioned the content of anti-domestic violence, Peng Jing suggested: "It is necessary to specifically study how to solve the problems that have existed for many years, such as the difficulty of identifying domestic violence, the difficulty of presenting evidence, and the difficulty of enforcing personal safety protection orders; at the same time, we must study how to establish a multi-departmental linkage mechanism to improve the efficiency of domestic violence handling and prevent the recurrence of violence." ”
How to determine domestic violence before and after marriage?
Lawyer's interpretation: indecent photo threats, trailing stalking, etc. are all "domestic violence"
It is worth mentioning that in this year's SPC work report, it is clearly stated that it is necessary to explore the extension of domestic violence prevention and control to pre-marriage, post-divorce and mental violence.
Before and after marriage, why do domestic violence problems occur? In this regard, You Zhilong, a well-known expert in marriage law, director of the Marriage and Family Law Professional Committee of the Guangdong Lawyers Association, and vice president of the Marriage Law Research Association of the Guangdong Law Society, explained to the Red Star News reporter.
You Zhilong pointed out that before marriage, if the two parties have established a romantic relationship and have cohabited, then there may be domestic violence. At this stage, in addition to the traditional fists and feet outward, language threats, control of personal freedom, economic restrictions, the use of indecent photos to threaten each other when breaking up, etc.; as for domestic violence after divorce, it is mainly reflected in the other party's tailing stalking, intimidation and other behaviors.
"In the past, we did not fully understand these mental violence, but in recent years, the above behaviors, including cold violence, have been proudly reflected in the anti-domestic violence regulations in various places." In You Zhilong's view, the anti-domestic violence content specifically mentioned in the SPC work report will promote the improvement of local and even national legislation in the future, or include more domestic violence content and forms, so that the perpetrators have more laws to rely on in safeguarding their rights.
You Zhilong also found in his years of attention to marriage cases that domestic violence cases have increased compared with the past. "On average, my law firm receives more than 20 domestic violence cases a year, which is more than in the past." According to the data released by the Supreme People's Court, as of the end of December 2020, courts across the country had issued a total of 7918 personal safety protection orders, showing an upward trend year by year. In this regard, You Zhilong said that the increase in cases shows that on the one hand, there are still groups suffering from personal safety threats, including domestic violence, and at the same time, it also shows that the legal awareness of victims is gradually increasing.
In You Zhilong's view, the "Anti-Domestic Violence Law" should further produce effects, on the one hand, it is still necessary to increase publicity and let more victims realize that domestic violence is not an ordinary family affair, but a real illegal act. On the other hand, the public security organs should pay more attention to it, no longer let the couple solve the problem behind closed doors, and not just limit it to simple adjustment and a domestic violence warning letter, but take more powerful measures to punish the perpetrator.
In addition, You Zhilong also proposed that more legal protection should be given to minors who witness or suffer domestic violence.
"Because children are not mentally sound enough, even if they only see domestic violence, they will suffer serious psychological trauma, posing unimaginable harm to future growth." According to You Zhilong, at present, the Guangdong side has written the protection of domestic violence witnessed by minors into the law.
According to the Measures of Guangdong Province for the Implementation of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law of the People's Republic of China, it has been made clear that minors who witness domestic violence are victims of domestic violence, and persons who are unable to report cases due to old age, disability, serious illness, coercion, intimidation, etc. are also included in the protection targets.
"This is a huge step forward, which means that we have a more nuanced and broader target and protection group in the fight against domestic violence." You Zhilong called for more places to actively explore the protection of juvenile anti-domestic violence, especially in the protection of juvenile anti-domestic violence.
Red Star News reporter Wu Yang Yang Yuqi reported from Beijing
Edited by Chai Chang
(Download Red Star News, there are prizes for the newspaper!) ）
