Shelter for the abused (Photo : Reuters)
As more Chinese women realize that they can seek protection against domestic violence, so is the need to establish more shelters.
A shelter will be opened in Dongguan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, to protect victims of domestic abuse, as reported by Dongguan Women's Federation.
Han Junfeng, vice president of Dongguan Women's Federation, said in a forum that the shelter will be located in Dongguan's Qishi Township and will be open before the next International Women's Day on March 8, 2015. Han also said that more shelters will be opened in other townships within the city limits.
Reports from the Guangdong Women's Rights and Interests Service stated that there were 2,981 victims in need of protection from Oct. 2011 to Oct. 2014. Of these numbers, 76 percent are related to marriage and family, 485 incidents were domestic violence, and in 464 cases the victims were women in desperate need of temporary shelters.
According to Dongguan Women's Federation officials, they have established 626 domestic-violence-reporting sites among the city's Bai Yulan Domestic Service Centers and Women's Rights Service Stations.
Han also said that surveys conducted in 2012 showed that only a few victims were willing to seek protection from domestic violence, so the Dongguan Women's Federation did not establish a shelter and just used existing shelters managed by different organizations like the Civil Affairs Department.
Han added that nowadays, as Chinese women begin to realize they have rights to protection from domestic harm, there is an overwhelming need to establish domestic violence shelters.
Dongguan Pengxing Social Work Service, a non-government organization, is struggling to create its own domestic violence shelter. They are currently seeking finance from the public in order to complete this project. To rent an apartment with basic living and entertainment facilities would cost from 60,000 yuan ($9,683) to 100,000 yuan ($16,318).
During a forum held on Dec. 24, attendees offered their suggestions for the currently being drafted Law of People's Republic of China against Domestic Violence. It was strongly suggested that the definition of domestic violence be expounded to include physical, mental, sexual and economic assaults.
Further, lawyer Zhang Lingyue suggested that violence between intimate partners, even that of same-sex partners, should be included. Without it, she said, many people would be left defenseless.
