Legal clarification will make it easier for offenders to be prosecuted

Legal practitioners predict big changes after the law prohibiting domestic violence comes into force on Tuesday. Wang Xinliang, of the Shandong Xinliang Law Firm, said the new legislation will establish a definition of domestic violence that will be paramount when he acts in cases in the future.

In the past, the courts had difficulty classifying abuse as such, meaning that few women were able to cite domestic violence as a reason for filing for divorce.

Wang recalled a case where a woman had two police statements and a medical report that proved she had suffered abuse, but was still unable to win her case. "The judge said falling out (with her husband) two or three times did not constitute domestic violence. Even with a wealth of evidence, the lawyers were unable to prove that the woman was a victim of abuse," he said.

"Wives are usually not good at keeping evidence that proves they have been mistreated. During the cases I acted in, I discovered that China's old laws were of little help to victims of domestic violence," he added.

He believes the new law will reverse the tide. "I am applying for warnings and restraining orders on behalf of my current clients. A warning may be even more effective than a restraining order," he said. Warnings will be issued in cases of violence that resulted in "minor" consequences, and will be admissible as evidence in court.

"The warning is addressed to the abuser and their employer, applying pressure via public opinion. For example, if a husband goes to work after being issued with a warning, his colleagues will point at him and discuss his behavior, and his prospects of promotion may also be affected. Offenders must realize that domestic violence will affect their social lives and reputation, so they won't dare commit it," Wang said.

Su Hang, a judge at Haidian Court in Beijing, echoed Wang's sentiments: "Some specific regulations in the new law provide unprecedented guarantees for anti-domestic violence lawsuits. In previous lawsuits, it was crucial to define whether the abuser's behavior constituted domestic violence."

Such abuse violates the rights of all family members, including those related to life and health. However, it is inevitable that disputes will arise between family members who live together, so the courts must decide if the dispute can be classified as domestic violence or as an argument sparked by a trivial matter. Rigidly regarding all family disputes as domestic violence would be unacceptable to the general public, Su said.

"The new law adopts the judicial interpretation in the Marriage Law, which clarifies that beating, restraint, injury or forcible limits on physical liberty constitute domestic violence," Su said.

The new legislation also categorizes psychological abuse as domestic violence, giving judges a firmer legal ground on which to make rulings.

"In an earlier case of psychological abuse, a husband wrote his wife's name on a basketball and bounced it in front of her repeatedly, causing her to become depressed and anxious," Su said, adding that the definition of psychological abuse must be widened to include domestic violence.

"We are all in favor of the new law," said Han Guangyi, a police officer in Beijing. "In the past, unless there was a reasonable cause to doubt the protagonists, the police usually regarded domestic violence as a family matter. From now on, we can issue warnings that will discourage potential offenders, and bring them to heel if they commit the crime."