FOREWORD

FOREWORD

I am deeply honoured to write the foreword for this book,which presents the findings from a very important study of domestic violence in China.

The study by Dr Ye is groundbreaking in many ways.The methodology involved both survey and in-depth interview techniques to give a unique insight into the verbal and non-verbal aspects of domestic violence that Dr Ye calls 'psychological domestic violence'.Dr Ye's particular expertise and interest in socio-linguistics gives her the ability to ask sophisticated questions about the complexities of power in communication and non-verbal behaviour between husbands and wives,and also about the impacts of the different forms of psychological domestic violence that she uncovers in the research.As a consequence,the book provides a wealth of new information and deeper understanding about how domestic violence is experienced and used in Chinese married couple relationships.

Domestic violence between husbands and wives may involve many forms of violence and coercive control,such as physical and sexual assault,psychological or emotional abuse,and financial control,and often in combination.However,much research in both China and the West suggests that the psychological forms of domestic violence are more common and may have some of the more damaging and long term impacts.This is a central,and important,reason why the book focuses specifically on psychological forms of domestic violence.

The book also shows the importance of gender in any analysis of domestic violence:that there are differences between husbands and wives in how they may use and experience psychological domestic violence that are linked to the social inequalities that exist more generally between men and women in China.The interviews with husbands and wives,which also included couples,show these differences particularly clearly.For example husbands are more likely to use forms of non-verbal behaviour that actively threaten their wives,such as threatening with their fists,while wives may use behaviour such as stamping their feet which does not have a similarly threatening effect.Involvement with a 'third party' (disanzhe) so that it humiliates and potentially damages the spouse psychologically is also the prerogative of husbands rather than wives.

Finally,the book explores the important issue of whether psychological domestic violence occurs to a similar extent in different types of families.Previous studies in China have suggested that psychological violence may be more prevalent in families educated to college level (intellectual families) and physical violence used more in less intellectual families educated only to school level.However Dr Ye's research shows that the pattern may be more complex and that psychological domestic violence may occur in any family.

The book outlines in detail how the research was carried out,and how the analysis was developed and applied.It provides very thoughtful reflection on the researching of domestic violence and use of different research methods in the Chinese context.This makes it an excellent book for the teaching of research methodology,as well as an excellent resource for understanding domestic violence.

Marianne Hester (MA Oxford,PhD Leeds)

Professor of Gender,Violence and International Policy

Head of Centre for Gender and Violence Research

University of Bristol,UK