Cases of domestic violence in China, criticism of the government’s marriage campaign

A campaign launched by the government to promote marriage in China following the murder of two women is now drawing criticism on social media. In the light of these two incidents, many users say that women in China have insufficient protection from domestic violence.

One of the two incidents mentioned here took place in the central Chinese province of Hainan. On Monday, authorities arrested a man there for allegedly stabbing his wife to death during a domestic dispute. Authorities said the 24-year-old woman was killed last week.

That same week, the body of 28-year-old socialite and model Abby Choi was found in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of Hong Kong. The killer dismembered Abby’s body. Authorities have arrested Abby Choi’s ex-husband and two in-laws on suspicion of murder.

The two shocking incidents have sparked a new debate on social media, with many users questioning the government’s encouragement of marriage and raising families.

One of these users wrote on social media platform Weibo, “If you don’t get married, your boyfriend beats you. If you get married, your husband beats you. If you are divorced. So your ex-husband abuses you. What has happened to this world?” Another user opined, “Being married and not having children is definitely the most protective.”

Some other users also pointed out that under a law introduced in 2021, formal proceedings could not be initiated before 30 days after filing divorce petitions. He said that this law has made it difficult for abusive married people to get a divorce.

Meanwhile, some videos of clashes between citizens and police have also circulated on social media, said to be from the city of the woman killed last week in Hainan province. But Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the locations seen in the videos.

In order to protect women, China also passed a law against gender discrimination and sexual harassment in October last year. But at the same time, the law also emphasized on respecting family values ​​for women. The legislation came at a time when activists expressed concern over the government’s rhetoric promoting traditional roles for women. Some people said that the government’s rhetoric was a blow to women’s rights.