对家暴say NO

LW: Today is the implementation of the first anti-domestic violence in China. Wu You, maybe you can enlighten us a little bit more? WY: So this is China’s first law on domestic violence. The new law defines domestic violence as both physical and psychological harm inflicted between family members. It includes beatings, injuries, restraint or forcible limits on physical liberties, as well as recurring verbal threats and abuse. Victims and those under immediate danger from domestic violence can file for a personal protection and restraining order. LW: Now, for the most part countries already have some sort of domestic violence law, in that the people live together, so there’s a more immediate threat and there’s, you know, there’s all sorts of emotional things involved as well, so it’s not just physical violence, it’s also emotional abuse as well, which makes it a bit difficult either to legislate for or to police. But Brian, maybe you can enlighten us a little bit more. BK: Right, right, and it’s not just – the most common thing that we’d be thinking about would be of husbands against wives – it’s the other way around too. It’s also violence against children, against elders, and possibly even roommates. And, of course, violence against unmarried couples living together (, all those kinds of things). WY: And this new law not only referred people who are married but also covers cohabitation, that means those who are not related but live together are also included. LW: Alright, so there doesn’t even have to be a relationship between the people, it’s just people who live together. But this is obviously a move in the right direction, this move. WY: There has been this discussion about this, because people believe this is more like a private shame for the family if they talk out loud about this. There has been a long discussion, and recently there has been more and people’s awareness about this, and then it was issued on December the 27th, in 2015. It take effect today. BK: Right, so again, like Wu You said, it’s traditionally kind of like a private matter sort of thing a couple things that have helped changed that, there was a TV show about – actually almost fifteen years ago called “Don’t Talk With Strangers”. It was about how abuse in a home for a newlywed couple was gradually figured out by strangers, family members and others, so there was that. Another big incident, a big case was Kim Lee, whose husband is Li Yang, the founder of Crazy English. She was beaten by him, and actually when she first went to the police, they told her just, you know, calm down, go back to your husband. WY: That was back in the year like 2012. She’s an American woman, she married to a famous Chinese English teacher whose name is Li Yang, and then suddenly there’s been really a news in the spotlight because she has put many pictures, photos online with her faces bruises, and her featuring her injured cheek, bleeding ear, and also wounded knees because of domestic violence by her husband. LW: And this is something that’s also a problem in South Africa, as well, and, I just [did] a little bit of research quickly, and that says that South Africa only really enacted its first domestic violence law in 1994, so fairly recently, after the end of apartheid, and then the act of itself came in, in 1998, and it seems that the kind of the thin edge of the wedge, the things that make this law effective is the issuance of a protection order, or a restraining order, which the Chinese law also has. But in South Africa, we found that [the] problem with that is, as well, is that something often needs to happen, or there has to be an immediate threat, or other clear signs of physical violence, and it’s often much more difficult to show emotional violence, so this is something often that’s made it quite difficult, whereas, you know, people would go and report something and then they’re like, we can’t really do anything until anything happens, and by that time it’s often much too late, so that’s something that I would imagine or I would predict that the Chinese law would have to also be able to address fairly consistently. WY: As under the new law, it says the courts have to decide within 72 hours whether to issue the injunction, but if the authorities decide the case is urgent, the court will render a decision within 24 hours. LW: So there’s definitely a need for the law to be enforced. I wonder, is there sort of indication about if found guilty, what the perpetrators, what type of sentence they would be facing. WY: So once the order’s granted, the court can order the abuser to move out of the home, or adopt various other measures to protect the safety with the victim, and also the order can last a maximum of six months, and it can be revoked or extended based on the situation. But anyone who violates the protection can face fines of one thousand yuan as well as fifteen days detention, but they can also face criminal charges in more serious offenses. And also, I need to mention that in China, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 12338. So if needed, please pick up the phone. LW: Yeah.