Well Well Well

[outcast]

I go onto danwei this morning and find this

Basically a Russian women married to a chinese "man" was taken to the hospital after being badly beaten by her "loving" chinese husband. To her credit, she was seeking a divorce and to the animal's father's credit he did try to stop it when it was happening but was overpowered.

Now, lets provide some cultural background for this issue

A survey in China has found that domestic violence is widely accepted within Chinese society.

Nearly half of the Chinese population believes it is reasonable for husbands to beat their wives.

A three year study conducted by the All China Women's Federation says 38 per cent of people surveyed admitted having resorted to violence to settle a disagreement with their spouses.

Forty-four per cent of respondents have blamed the wives, saying domestic violence is often brought on by unreasonable behaviour.

So, any thoughts?

[AxelManbow]

During April 2009 China enacted a new law on tackling domestic violence, and from my observations in Dalian the police seem to be taking it seriously.

[outcast]

Nice to finally see some progress, even though it is belated. Better than never I suppose, though this does not excuse so many people's attitudes about it.

[gato]

You are back! Did you know that you've started a thread on domestic violence in China every year since 2005? At least Dalian seems to be finally getting the message.

[peekay]

Cultural background? So many people's attitudes?

Back in Russia -- a country with 1/10th the population of China -- more than 13,000 women are killed each and every year due to domestic violence. What are your thought on their cultural background and attitudes? Or is this about singling out the Chinese?

Comparatively, the Chinese have been much more proactive in tackling domestic violence. The Communist Party formed the All China Women's Federation to promote women's rights way back in the 1940s. The Chinese government was also the host of the Fourth World Conference on Women, culminating with the Beijing Platform. Numerous national, regional, even municipal laws and programs to help curb domestic abuse have been introduced in the past 20 years.

China needs to make much progress in tackling gender issues, but they're far ahead than many other societies in this world. Just look at how other "cultural backgrounds" treat women... in most of Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in South Asia, in Africa...

[roddy]

Did you know that you've started a thread on domestic violence in China every year since 2005?

Indeed, so you have. How have your views changed these four years?

[Senzhi]

China needs to make much progress in tackling gender issues, but they're far ahead than many other societies in this world. Just look at how other "cultural backgrounds" treat women... in most of Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in South Asia, in Africa...

Agreed. And you can include Western Europe on the abuse list too. Even my country.

In fact, is there a country in the world that doesn't have this issue? Is it really "culture" related?

[tony1343]

China's situation might be different than the rest of the world though, because of its one-child policy.

So, married women in China don't typically (or at least won't in the future) have brothers to beat the ever living sh*t out of the abusive husband.

By the way, this is partially a joke (and partly not).

[Xiao Kui]

So, married women in China don't typically (or at least won't in the future) have brothers to beat the ever living sh*t out of the abusive husband.

tony's joke, while inappropriate, was funny.

[outcast]

You are back! Did you know that you've started a thread on domestic violence in China every year since 2005? At least Dalian seems to be finally getting the message.

Well someone needs to give it the attention it deserves.

And you can include Western Europe on the abuse list too.

True, but not nearly to that degree. So you don't think 38% is outrageously high?

In fact, is there a country in the world that doesn't have this issue? Is it really "culture" related?

Culture clearly affects the rates. It is true that some men are just naturally psychotic, but when it is seen as an acceptable thing the rates skyrocket. To say otherwise inspite of clear evidence to the contrary is like putting lipstick on a pig and telling me it's madonna.

Or is this about singling out the Chinese?

This forum is about all things chinese. If this was a forum about another nationality then that is who would be signled out.

Back in Russia -- a country with 1/10th the population of China -- more than 13,000 women are killed each and every year due to domestic violence. What are your thought on their cultural background and attitudes?

They suck. Little wonder their population is crashing.

China needs to make much progress in tackling gender issues, but they're far ahead than many other societies in this world. Just look at how other "cultural backgrounds" treat women... in most of Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in South Asia, in Africa...

Which is like comparing termites and carpenter ants.

[gougou]

They suck.

I don't think this is an attitude worthy of a forum dedicated to intercultural issues. You are entitled to disagree with the prevailing views of a certain nationality or culture, but unless you make an effort still respecting them for the people they are (which they are, even if you might not think so), I don't think there's much point in any further posts here.

[outcast]

I don't think this is an attitude worthy of a forum dedicated to intercultural issues. You are entitled to disagree with the prevailing views of a certain nationality or culture, but unless you make an effort still respecting them for the people they are (which they are, even if you might not think so), I don't think there's much point in any further posts here.

I could have gone into further details, but that's the basic summary. I will never respect anyone who has an attitude that leads to the harm and sometimes even the death of innocent people. That is no different from condoning armed robbery.

[roddy]

Where are you actually from, Outcast?

[outcast]

US

[jbradfor]

You may or may not agree with or like Outcast's phrasing and attitude. But I agree with him that some cultural differences one should NOT accept as a cultural difference, but rather should say "this is wrong", universally. And beating up one's wife definitely falls into the "this is wrong" category.

[peekay]

Yet sadly, US women are subjected to physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner at a far higher rate than Chinese women, and indeed all types of violent crimes against women are much more prevalent in the US than in China.

Every year, over 1.5 million US women are physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner, according to a comprehensive DoJ/CDC study (Tjaden&Thoennes, 2000). That's a staggering amount. To put that number in perspective, annually there are more assaults against US women by an intimate partner than the total amount of all serious crimes in all of China (a much larger country.)

It just shows "factors" like "cultural background" doesn't tell the whole story, and it's often used as an excuse to justify a kind of prejudice. In fact, the same DoJ/CDC study above points out that the rate of domestic abuse among Asian communities in the US is actually lower than from other ethnic backgrounds.

As I've pointed out previously, China needs to make much progress in tackling gender issues, such as violence against women. But it seems unfair to single them out -- without context to other societies -- while in reality China is one of the few countries where the situation has been improving dramatically in recent years.

[crazy-meiguoren]

Yet sadly, US women are subjected to physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner at a far higher rate than Chinese women, and indeed all types of violent crimes against women are much more prevalent in the US than in China.

It just shows "factors" like "cultural background" doesn't tell the whole story, and it's often used as an excuse to justify a kind of prejudice. In fact, the same DoJ/CDC study above points out that the rate of domestic abuse among Asian communities in the US is actually lower than from other ethnic backgrounds.

The studies rely on REPORTED figures. I can't say what the situation is among the US Chinese communities, but law enforcement here has experienced some frustration regarding communities from smaller Asian countries, where there is heavy distrust toward the police. I hope that attitude is fading now that a new generation is born and raised in the US, who have never seen the corruption that their parents saw when they were refugees from places like Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. That's why I hope that the US Chinese community has a different attitude, since Chinese communities have been well established in the US for generations.

Yes, domestic abuse is bad here in the US. I used to be married to a survivor of domestic abuse - from her upbringing to her first marriage. The tales she told me would raise the hair on your neck. It almost happened again - she was briefly engaged to a major nutcase with a long record of abuse, but thankfully she broke it off, although she feels sorry for "breaking his heart". (Believe me, if she went ahead and married him, I'd be fighting tooth and nail to have the kids live with me!)

I really hope that China successfully tackles domestic abuse. Whether here, China, or elsewhere in the world, it is wrong. Old attitudes may take years, even generations, to go away, but this is an issue worth dealing with.

[peekay]

The mentioned study did not use reported figures from law enforcement sources, due to the issues you point out. Rather, a controlled, anonymous, scientific survey was conducted among representative populations (as compared to census tables.) Only responses considered reliable were considered for analysis, and then the findings were peer-reviewed.

Underreporting could have been a factor in the figures. However, it's somewhat doubtful that the underreporting rate among Asian/Pacific Islanders was significantly different from the other minority groups such as African-Americans. Yet the study showed that domestic abuse among Asian/Pacific Islanders were substantially less than Whites, while abuse rates among African-Americans were somewhat higher than Whites.

Interestingly, the study found little difference between all the ethnic groups when social, demographic and environmental factors are taken into account. In my own opinion, factors like education levels and economic stresses play far bigger roles in domestic abuse than any racial or ethnic "cultural background".

[Music&MeForever]

... factors like education levels and economic stresses play far bigger roles in domestic abuse than any racial or ethnic "cultural background"

True enough, in times of stress angry and unhappy men tend to vent their frustrations on women. But I'd say education level or race has got nothing to do with it, but rather the personality, then the upbringing (and I mean a specific family mentality regardless of cultural background).

It's a bad, bad world out there...

[outcast]

Yet sadly, US women are subjected to physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner at a far higher rate than Chinese women, and indeed all types of violent crimes against women are much more prevalent in the US than in China.

In China the rate is 38%+, according to the CDC in the US it is about 10~20%. The percentages tell a very different story. In China the reported figures are significantly lower because of CULTURE, in the "traditional" culture going outside the home for help on this is "bad", and like I said so many people think it is "acceptable" to beat women that they wouldn't report it anyway.

... factors like education levels and economic stresses play far bigger roles in domestic abuse than any racial or ethnic "cultural background"

Just for comparison, I checked Japans domestic violence rate. Japan is a well developed country with a well educated population, but it has exceptionally backwards attitudes towards women. From what I read, the rate is ~33%. Would you care to explain that?