Civil society’s contribution to the development of the China’s first national law on domestic violence
Author
Dziaugyte, Lina
Term
4. term
Publication year
2015
Submitted on
2015-05-18
Pages
53
Abstract
I 1995 var Kina vært for FN’s Verdenskonference om Kvinder, et skelsættende øjeblik. Internationalt styrkede konferencen kampagner mod vold mod kvinder. Indenlands introducerede den for første gang begrebet domestic violence – vold i hjemmet – i den brede offentlighed. Konferencen var også med til at legitimere civilsamfundsorganisationer og gav dem rammer at arbejde inden for. Ved udgangen af sidste år forelå et udkast til Kinas første nationale lov om vold i hjemmet. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan den lov blev til. Analysen bygger på to teorier: David Eastons systemteori, der ser politik som et system, hvor krav og støtte fra samfundet omsættes til beslutninger og love med feedback, og Peter Hos idé om indlejret social aktivisme, hvor aktivister arbejder inden for statslige kanaler og regler for at skabe forandring. Afhandlingen kortlægger civilsamfundets rolle og de barrierer, organisationerne mødte. Efter konferencen skruede regeringen op for arbejdet med kvinders rettigheder, men vold i hjemmet forblev et politisk og socialt tabu. Flere kvinde-NGO’er satte gang i oplysning, blandt andet Don’t talk to strangers, det første landsdækkende tv-program om vold i hjemmet. Programmet gjorde emnet mindre politisk følsomt, men mange så det stadig som et privat familieanliggende, der var skamfuldt at tale om. Senere blev to sager – Kim Li og Li Yan – landskendte. De øgede opmærksomheden og synliggjorde, at der manglede juridisk beskyttelse af personer udsat for vold i hjemmet. I de senere år lagde civilsamfundet et stort pres for at løse problemet, og i takt med at regeringen viste større vilje til at handle, kulminerede processen med udkastet til den første nationale lov mod vold i hjemmet.
In 1995, China hosted the UN World Conference on Women, a turning point at home and abroad. Internationally, the conference energized campaigns against violence against women. Inside China, it introduced the term domestic violence to the wider public for the first time and helped legitimize civil society organizations by giving them a framework to operate. By the end of last year, a draft of China’s first national law on domestic violence had been prepared. This thesis examines how that law came about. The analysis uses two theories: David Easton’s systems theory, which views politics as a system that converts social demands and support into decisions and laws through feedback, and Peter Ho’s concept of embedded social activism, in which activists work within state-sanctioned channels and rules to advance change. The thesis traces the role of civil organizations and the obstacles they faced. After the conference, the government stepped up work on women’s rights, yet domestic violence remained a political and social taboo. More women’s NGOs launched public education projects, including Don’t talk to strangers, the first national TV program about domestic violence. The show made the topic less politically sensitive, but many still saw it as a private family matter that was shameful to discuss. Later, two high-profile cases—Kim Li and Li Yan—went public, raising awareness and exposing gaps in legal protection for those experiencing abuse at home. In recent years, sustained efforts by civil society, combined with growing government willingness to act, culminated in the drafting of the first national anti–domestic violence law.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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