Daming (a county in Handan, a city in North China's Hebei Province) recently set up Jiaren Family Mediation Studio (in six of the villages in Jintan, a town in Daming), to mediate residents' marital and family disputes. The centers, the first of their kind in the county, are headed by the women secretaries of the villages' Party (Communist Party of China) branches. 

The women village officials have advantages in helping residents resolve marital and family disputes. For example, the women tend to be thoughtful, and they have good communication and coordination skills.

"I'll try my best to mediate residents' marital and family disputes, and to help women and children protect their rights and interests," says Wang Yanhong, a mediator from the Jiaren Family Mediation Studio, in Shundaodian, a village in Jintan. 

Daming Women's Federation and Daming Justice Bureau plan to provide training to mediators of Jiaren Family Mediation Studio, in various regions in Daming, so the mediators can better help residents resolve family disputes. The federation will encourage more women volunteers and village officials to help residents resolve marital and family disputes. That, in turn, will promote social stability and harmony within families.

(Women of China English Monthly July 2023 issue)