2nd China-France Gender Equality Symposium Held in Beijing

The second China-France Symposium on Gender Equality and the third China-France Anti-Domestic Violence Seminar was held in Beijing on November 24. Nearly 100 experts and activists participated in the event to share their experiences and achievements in preventing domestic violence.

The experts also exchanged opinions on the challenges they face and the existing problems and obstacles in the process of promoting anti-domestic violence both in China and France.

The event was co-sponsored by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), the French Embassy in China and the CWU. Lu Yamin, vice director of the ACWF's Liaison Department, and Gui Nan, government cooperation commissioner of the French Embassy, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

During the meeting, Dominique Attias, vice-president of the Paris Lawyers' Association;  Françoise Guyot, from the French Republic Prosecutor's Office, Maryvonne Chapalain, a representative of the Paris procurators; Li Mingshun, secretary of CWU's Party Committee and vice-president of the China Association of Marriage and Family Studies; Liu Yang, vice director of the sixth tribunal of the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing; and Wan Wei, a guest lawyer of Hunan Crisis Intervention Center for Domestic Violence, made keynote speeches on how to use judicial measures to prevent domestic violence.

The French experts demonstrated the practice and effectiveness of the French judicial system in using judicial measures to combat domestic violence in terms of the enforcement of personal safety protection order, professional training of relevant personnel and appeal for multi-side cooperation.

Atias emphasized the importance of the implementation of personal safety protection order and introduced France's practical measures to train judicial officials and ensure efficiency. Relevant departments in France have investigated victims of domestic violence and raised social awareness, a French deputy prosecutor said, and introduced the country's efforts in training professionals, enacting relevant laws, enforcing laws and trialing trans-boundary cooperation.

The French prosecutor representative introduced the national anti-domestic violence training of the police in order to improve police officers' awareness of protecting domestic violence victims and raising the public's concern for anti-domestic violence.

Chinese experts mainly introduced the country's efforts and practices in anti-domestic violence legislation and law implementation. Li highlighted the importance of communication in preventing domestic violence worldwide and explained the system construction, working and responsibility logic of China's Anti-Domestic Violence Law.

Liu Yang explored women and children's rights protection from the perspective of trial of civil cases and laid out China's theoretical and practical innovations in constructing the system of personal safety protection order. Wan analyzed the differences between personal safety protection order and warning order in protecting women and children's rights and interests. She said that judicial intervention is an effective way of preventing and stopping family violence, and improving the social status of the victim, enabling them to participate in equal dialogue and give them equal options.

During the seminar, the experts called for more men and people from different sectors of society to participate in anti-domestic violence action, appealed for the public to protect themselves with legal tools and strive for realizing gender equality and eliminating domestic violence.

Those present shared their different theoretical and practical experiences on how to better apply judicial measures to combat domestic violence. The meeting came to an end in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.

(Source: China Women's University/Translated and Edited by Gender Study Network)