Dear Hongman, Hong Kong passed its domestic violence law over 15 years ago. Given the similarity in cultural context, you may be interested in some of the reactions and resistances encountered at that time:
1. Initially, government claimed there is no problem and thus no need, because there were no figures on the extent of the problem. So women's groups compiled statistics to indicate the prevalence of the problem. I think there are now a number of studies in China on this issue. 2. Some people, usually men, would claim that husbands, not just wives, are victims of domestic violence. But if the law covers both men and women, or spouse and not just wife, then this argument does not stand. The law should protect everyone from family violence. 3. The law should be supported by enforcement procedures and available of supportive services, e.g. housing arrangements, shelter, injunction, relief. Coordination among agencies or government departments is essential. 4. The law enforcement agencies and the service providers should be trained to be sensitive to gender perspectives in domestic violence. These are my immediate thoughts for your reference. Sincerely, Fanny Cheung ********************************** Fanny M. Cheung, Ph.D. Professor & Chair Department of Psychology Director Gender Research Centre The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong SAR China Fax: (852) 2603-5019 ********************************** ***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from ICAP*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
