Combating domestic violence during COVID-19: what does the Chinese experience show us?

• Author: Lu Haina, Hao Wanyuan
• Position: (???) Ph.D. in Law, School of Law, Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium; Associate Professor, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center, School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: luhaina123@sina.cn - (???) LLM, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland; LL...
• Pages: 3-34

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 16 MARCH 2021 NO. 1

DOI 10.3868/s050-010-021-0002-9

FOCUS

PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS DURING COVID-19

COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING COVID-19: WHAT DOES THE

CHINESE EXPERIENCE SHOW US?

LU Haina∗, HAO Wanyuan∗∗

Abstract Previous evidence demonstrates that a public health crisis triggers and

intensifies domestic violence, especially against women. The pandemic of COVID-19

supported this observation, as the world witnessed an increase in domestic violence.

China has witnessed a similar trend. While the Chinese government is applying a

stringent model of virus control measures over COVID-19 when compared to certain

other countries, many questions remain: How is this impacting the situation of domestic

violence in China? What has China done to combat domestic violence during

COVID-19? What can we learn from the Chinese experience? This article intends to

answer these questions by reviewing reports and media coverage and conducting

interviews with stakeholders. First, it examines causes of domestic violence during

COVID-19. Second, it analyses the types and features of domestic violence during

COVID-19. Third, the article intends to discover the current difficulties in combatting

domestic violence. Fourth, it presents good practices for specific local areas. Last, it

concludes with recommendations for tackling domestic violence during public health

crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, by understanding the Chinese experience.

Keywords domestic violence, COVID-19, public health emergencies, pandemic

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 5

I. WHAT CAUSED INCREASED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING COVID-19? .................... 6

A. COVID-19 and Its Control Measures ....................................................................6

B. The Situation and Policy Impact on Domestic Violence........................................ 7

∗ (󳌛󰩌) Ph.D. in Law, School of Law, Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium;

Associate Professor, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center, School of Law, Renmin University of

China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: luhaina123@sina.cn

∗∗ (󲶲) LLM, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland;

LLM, School of Law, Renmin University of China, China; Researcher of the Human Rights Center, School of

Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: Yuan2009vip@163.com

This research is supported by the Ministry of Education project for the National Base for Human Rights

Education and Training (15JJD820025).

4 FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA [Vol. 16: 3

1. The Economic Dimension ................................................................................ 7

2. The Social Dimension....................................................................................... 8

3. The Cultural Dimension ................................................................................... 9

4. The Political Dimension ...................................................................................9

II. TYPES AND FEATURES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF

COVID-19 ............................................................................................................... 10

A. Existing Domestic Violence as Intensified by COVID-19.................................... 10

B. New Cases of Domestic Violence Generated by COVID-19................................ 11

C. Features of Domestic Violence during COVID-19.............................................. 11

1. Increased Administrative Barriers .................................................................. 11

2. Increase of Victims......................................................................................... 12

3. Increase in Reliance on Modern Technology in Responses ............................13

III. BARRIERS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESPONSES IN THE CONTEXT OF

COVID-19 .............................................................................................................. 14

A. Trapped Victims................................................................................................... 14

1. Collectivism and Prioritization of Group Interests......................................... 14

2. Lack of Access to Information........................................................................ 14

3. Fear of Reprisal............................................................................................... 18

B. Challenges Faced by Traditional Supporting Mechanisms................................. 18

1. The Police....................................................................................................... 18

2. The Local Community, Civil Society Organizations, and NGOs................... 19

3. Shelters ........................................................................................................... 20

4. Other Services................................................................................................. 21

IV. GOOD PRACTICES FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF

COVID-19.............................................................................................................. 22

A. Measures to Assist Victims................................................................................... 22

1. Conduct Assessments and Identify Risks of Domestic Violence.................... 22

2. Practical Manual and Guidelines for Victims of Domestic Violence.............. 23

3. Green Passes for Victims’ Access to Relevant Services .................................24

4. Psychological Support ....................................................................................25

5. Online and Offline Activities to Raise Awareness.......................................... 27

B. Measures to Support the Traditional Mechanism................................................ 28

1. Online Application Developed to Report Domestic Violence against

Children .......................................................................................................... 28

2. Online Virtual Court....................................................................................... 28

3. Other Online Platforms................................................................................... 29

V. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................. 29

A. Measures to Empower Women and Victims of Domestic Violence ...................... 30

1. Economic Empowerment................................................................................ 30

2. Raising Women’s Awareness for Combating Domestic Violence................... 30

3. Ensuring Access to Healthcare and Other Essential Services......................... 31

B. Measures to Strengthen the Support Network ..................................................... 31

2021] COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING COVID-19 5

1. Identifying Gaps and Room for Improvement................................................ 31

2. Training Professionals to Ensure Quality Services......................................... 32

3. Direct Resources and Adequate Funds........................................................... 32

C. Include Men in the Anti-Domestic Violence Response ........................................32

1. Raising Men’s Awareness in Combating Domestic Violence......................... 32

2. Imposing Serious Sanctions for Perpetrators.................................................. 33

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 34

INTRODUCTION

In December 2019, a virus that was later named COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan,

China. By early February 2020, the virus had spread all over the country. To effectively

control the virus, many cities and provinces, starting with Wuhan and Hubei Province,

began imposing their own control measures that took various forms, from complete city

lockdowns like Wuhan to minor movement restrictions. These control measures have

demonstrated an estimable impact of domestic violence in China and the rest of the

world.

Evidence drawn from previous experiences like the Ebola outbreak shows how a

public health crisis triggers and intensifies violence against women.1 The COVID-19

outbreak is no exception. As it became a pandemic, the surge of domestic violence also

became a global trend. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the

Empowerment of Women (UN Women) issued a report which shows that cases of

domestic violence increased by 30% in France and 25% in Argentina. Hotline calls for

domestic violence increased 30% in Cyprus and Singapore.2 Canada, Germany, Spain,

the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have witnessed an increased need

for shelters, for victims of domestic violence.3

In China, a similar trend has been observed. For example, in Jianli County of Hubei

Province, the police received 162 reported cases of domestic violence in February 2020,

which amounts to three times more than the reported cases of February 2019.4 The

numbers in January 2020 also increased two times more than the figures of January

2019.5 An analysis from those cases shows that 97.44% of the perpetrators are male,

1 See Neetu John, Sara E. Casey, Giselle Carino & Terry McGovern, Lessons Never Learned: Crisis and

Gender-Based Violence, US National Library of Medicine, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pmc/articles/PMC7262171/ (last visited Oct. 5, 2020).

2 See Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Violence against Women and Girls: The Shadow Pandemic, available at

eca.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/statement-ed-phumzile-violence-against-women-during-pandemic

(last visited Oct. 5, 2020).

3 Id.

4 See Female-Emotion, 󱊀󰏴󳋉󰎉󱳐, 󱝋󱞴󰌄 (Domestic Violence Surged Three

Times during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Why?), available at https://mp.wei xin.qq.com/s/GFPmgJWfqe

MEvmR2pdrLuA (last visited Oct. 5, 2020).

5 Id.