Introduction

Introduction

Domestic violence is a very sensitive topic and research about it is fraught with difficulties (Lee &Stanko,2003).Use of the term is particularly new in China although it is a very old issue (Jiang,2005;Tang et al.,2002).Historically,from the May Fourth Movement (1919) to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),policies in relation to family reform and family equality between women and men have been a central goal for the government and for academics and practitioners(Davin,1976;Hershatter,2007;Pan,1987).For example,the first China Marriage Law (1950) stipulated that forced marriages,bigamy or taking concubines was abolished,which gave women the freedom of marriage (Qian,2007).However,only in recent years has the term 'domestic violence' been used in official documents,academic articles and the media in China.Domestic violence has been specifically raised in the public agenda (Tang et al.,2002).In the past,such violence was seen as a 'family/private matter' no outsider would like to be involved in it.

By the influence of the 1995 UN Women's Conference in Beijing,Chinese academics and practitioners from different fields including sociology,psychiatry,medicine,social policy,law,criminology,human development and social work,have contributed to the exploration and discussion of domestic violence.They have collected a great deal of empirical data on many dimensions of violence in families.The media have also played a role (Bu &Milwertz,2004).Newspapers,magazines,television and broadcasting programs cover many related stories.Chinese academics and practitioners,through their research,are beginning to build a body of work systematically and theoretically.

As a foreign PhD student staying in the UK for a few years,British research concerning domestic violence has engaged my interest.I wanted to examine how this research is developing or has been developed,in ways which shed light upon similar studies in China.Therefore,this part of my book will discuss domestic violence in both countries,then compare some of their similarities and differences.From similarities and differences concerning both theory and research,we can study how and why domestic violence occurs between wives and husbands in the two countries.

This part is divided into four chapters.Chapter 1 will examine how British and Chinese academics define and explain domestic violence.The distinction between these definitions may be influenced by the different cultures,social systems and development of research histories.For example,the history of the development of domestic violence research in the UK is longer than in China.Because of more than a thirty year research experience,British research is more longer-standing and systematic in both theory and practice,while Chinese exploration is newer and improving rapidly at this moment.

Chapter 2 will look at some of the previous studies in the UK and China.Such studies deal mainly with the extent,attitudes and experiences concerning domestic violence amongst the public.Domestic abuse of women,as a crucial social issue is reflected in these studies in both countries.This chapter also reveals the similarities in research data of two countries as well as the different style of approaches to related issues between the two countries.Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 will discuss different influences on marriage,family and usage of language and communication between women and men within the domestic arena.Additionally,patriarchy and gender inequality will be discussed in both chapters.

Different types of literature on domestic violence in both the UK and China will be referred to,including government reports,law and policy papers,books and journals,and newspapers and research studies.There is a rich array of studies,articles and books in the field which have been produced in the UK.Such studies are beginning to emerge in China at last,but a greater proportion of reports and debates in this field take place in the popular media,e.g.newspapers.

Methodologies have also been different in the two countries.In the UK,there have been studies of widely varying types,from individual accounts of the experience of domestic violence (e.g.Kelly,1988),to prevalence studies(e.g.Mirlees-Black,1999;Povey,2008;Walby &Allen,2004),to studies of professional approaches and interventions (e.g.Hester &Westmarland,2005),and examinations of perpetrator behaviour (e.g.Hanmer et al.,2000).In China,many reports of letters and calls to hotlines have been produced(e.g.Hou,2002;Li,2002;Li &Dong,2003;Li &Zai,2003;Wang,2003),as well as some local and national family surveys (e.g.Li et al.,2002;Tian,2000).While,research remains less systematic in China than in the UK at present,more systematic research on prevalence and individual experiences of domestic violence as well as public attitudes toward the subject has been given some sound foundations (e.g.Domestic Violence Project^[1];Study on Abused Women in Regions^[2]).In conclusion,research on domestic violence is developing rapidly in China,and this thesis will contribute,it is hoped,to this evolution.

【注释】

[1]This project has been implemented by the China Law Society from 2000 until now in Beijing.The detailed information will be in Chapter 2.

[2]This study started in 2000 all over China.