Law can better protect women from domestic violence

YU YA, A COSMETICS LIVESTREAMER, revealed she was the victim of domestic violence in a post on her micro blog on Monday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

"For the past half a year, I have been living in a nightmare", Yu wrote in a micro blog, "Now I have to speak out." She posted a video detailing her boyfriend's abuse that included interviews with her boyfriend's two ex-wives, who also suffered from his beatings.

The man once stamped on Yu's face and the attack was so violent that she could not even wear makeup and do her job as a cosmetics promoter for a whole week. He also kicked one of his wives in the stomach when she was pregnant.

According to data from All-China Women's Federation, of the 270 million families nationwide, about 30 percent of women have suffered from domestic violence, yet only a few of them choose to call the police, even though China adopted a law against domestic violence in 2016.

A major cause for this is the women's sense of shame. Many women believe domestic violence brings shame on the family and themselves, not the man.

Another obstacle is the difficulty women face in using the law to protect themselves as it is hard for them to collect evidence.

That's a major problem in the efforts to curb domestic violence. In practice, many local police stations require the victim to video-record the whole process of domestic violence, or they might not consider their scars or medical reports as solid evidence.

In August 2017, a woman in Shanghai was reported to have installed a hidden camera at home to collect evidence of domestic violence. But women should not have to go to such lengths. It is time for the police authorities to issue instructions about domestic violence cases so that the standard of collecting evidence will not be so high.

Yu has already left her boyfriend, and the local police in her community said they are investigating whether there are any records of her calling the police to report her boyfriend's violence.

It is hoped that Yu's speaking out will prompt greater efforts to protect women from domestic violence.