WUNRN
http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/news/china/1409/1526-1.htm
CHINA – ANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN FORUM CITES
PROGRESS, BEST PRACTICES, & GOALS OF INCREASED VICTIM LEGAL PROTECTIONS
& INTEGRATED SERVICES
September
30, 2014 - Editor: Hewater Liu
The Anti-Domestic
Violence against Women Forum, co-sponsored by the All-China Women's Federation
(ACWF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was held in Beijing on
September 28, 2014.
The forum aimed
to highlight the joint achievements made by the ACWF and the UNFPA in their
efforts to end domestic violence against women in China, hold discussions with
attendees about hot topics in connection with family violence against women,
and provide the domestic legislative departments with theoretical and practical
assistance in their efforts to draft legal terms on anti-domestic violence
against women.
Member of the
Secretariat of the ACWF, Secretary General of the Chinese Women's Research
Society (CWRS) and President of the Women's Studies Institute of China Tan Lin
delivered an address at the forum, in which she reviewed the achievements made
by China in its efforts to fight against domestic violence against women over
the past two decades.
China has made
remarkable progress in the war against domestic violence in terms of social
awareness, legislation and regulations, and innovative social management, since
it enacted the national policy on gender equality 20 years ago.
So far, a total
of 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country have
promulgated their own laws and regulations to crack down on domestic violence
against women and have accumulated fruitful experience in their work in the
field concerned. Meanwhile, China's National People's Congress (NPC) has also
worked on its legislative efforts to deal with domestic violence against women,
which further highlights the importance of the forum under current social
circumstances.
At the forum,
Tan gave high credit to the joint efforts made by the ACWF and the UNFPA in a
charitable program piloted in Liuyang City in central China's Hunan Province,
and Chengde County in north China's Hebei Province to fight against family
violence against women since 2006. The two regions have championed the rollout
of legislation and institutions to curb the occurrence of domestic violence
against women, and their efforts have won high recognition from the public.
For her part,
Deputy Resident Representative of the UNFPA China Office Soyoltuya Bayaraa said
at the forum that concerted efforts should be made by the departments of
justice, health and others to prevent the occurrence of family violence against
women and meet the needs of female victims of domestic violence.
Attending
experts held discussions about how to cope with domestic violence against
women, better protect the legal interests of female victims of family violence,
and hold those suspected of sexual assault against women and girls accountable
for their behavior. In addition, they also talked about useful practices
introduced in foreign countries to fight against domestic violence against
women.
The one-day
forum drew the attendance of United Nations (UN) representatives to China,
officials from the National Working Committee on Children and Women under
China's State Council, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Health and
Family Planning Commission and other departments, and experts from educational
institutes.