A quarter of Chinese women suffer domestic abuse

October 21st, 2011 - 3:43 pm ICT by IANS  

Beijing, Oct 21 (IANS) About 25 percent of women in China have experienced domestic abuse, according to a government survey on the social status of women in the country.

The survey, released Friday, classifies domestic abuse as verbal humiliation, physical assault, deprivation of personal freedom, illegal control of income and rape.

The survey was based on the responses of 105,573 women aged 18 and above across the country, reported Xinhua.

Reports of physical assault stood at 5.5 percent, with a rate of 7.9 percent among rural women and 3.1 percent among their urban counterparts, the survey indicated.

The All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) conducted the survey last December, the third national survey on social status of Chinese women following ones in 1990 and 2000.

Zhen Yan, ACWF vice chairwoman, said at a press conference Friday that compared to a decade ago, women have showed more awareness of domestic abuse.

“Traditionally domestic abuse was considered a family affair, and most victims went to the police or women’s associations,” she said.

The ACWF is lobbying lawmakers to adopt a special law on domestic abuse, she added.

Domestic abuse became a big story last month after a scandal in which a Chinese celebrity was caught beating his American wife.

Li Yang, a Chinese English teacher whose “Crazy English” teaching method made him popular in the mid-1990s, was criticised after his wife posted pictures online showing injuries he inflicted upon her.

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