Chinese draft law seen as significant first step in tackling domestic violence against women
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - China has drafted its first anti-domestic violence legislation, according to a government agency and media reports.
The draft, hailed as an important, long-overdue step by rights advocates, defines domestic violence for the first time and was posted on Tuesday on the website of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council.
"It is just a draft, and it is not sufficient, but it is important and encouraging that they have actually written something down," author Leta Hong Fincher told Time magazine on Wednesday.
The draft legislation would make it mandatory for police to investigate when a domestic violence report is filed and would allow victims to file restraining orders, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
If the new law is approved by parliament, perpetrators could receive written warnings in cases of minor abuse or, in more serious cases, face criminal charges and detention in line with current legislation, the agency said.
The abuse of a spouse or child has long been regarded as a private matter in China, where nearly 25 percent of women have experienced domestic violence, according to a 2010 survey by the All-China Women's Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics.
"Domestic violence is not a family dispute, rather, it is aggression against people's rights and should be resolved with legal measures," Xinhua quoted the All-China Women's Federation as saying.
(Editing by Tim Pearce)
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