From Fights Between Couples to Domestic Violence

I participated in the NGO Forum on Women, Beijing '95, the parallel meeting of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Women's endeavors, especially regarding gender equality, at the conference made a profound impression on me.

I enrolled at the University of Hong Kong in 1995, and I studied issues related to domestic violence. I participated in a program aimed at combating domestic violence. The program was implemented by the China Law Society. I got involved with the program in 1999, after I graduated from the university, with a doctor's degree in social work and social administration.

Participating in the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and studying for a doctor's degree were two of the turning points in my life. Since then, I have become a scholar with a social-gender consciousness.

Fights between couples are common in China. However, Chinese were unaware of the concept of domestic violence prior to the 1990s.

I learned of the concept of domestic violence in 1990 when I attended the China-US Women's Conference. The preliminary conferences of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women were held around the world between 1993-1995. Domestic violence was one of the main topics at the conferences. Scholars and social-service workers introduced their domestic-violence-related research results. Domestic violence was also one of the main topics at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women.

Chinese scholars began studying issues related to domestic violence after the conference. They played important roles in improving people's awareness about domestic violence, and they suggested the government enact a law prohibiting domestic violence. However, we still need to solve many problems related to domestic violence. More scholars, experts and social workers should promote the laws that prohibit domestic violence, and they should strive to prevent and interpose domestic violence.

(Women of China)