The China Foundation Center published the “Report on the Status and Needs of Anti-Domestic Violence Social Organizations” on April 15, with the support of the EU representative group in China and the Asia Foundation. The passing of China’s law against domestic violence in 2016 gave a sort of legal recognition to social organizations dealing with domestic violence, but there is still a lack of information on this sector, which this report seeks to dispel.
The report shows that since 2011, anti-domestic violence organizations have grown greatly in number. 62.3% of the organizations interviewed for the report were founded after 2011.
The report had seven major findings:
- Anti-domestic violence organizations are distributed unevenly across China. Most are in first, second and third tier cities, and only a minority are able to provide services to rural areas.
- Most organizations provide educational services, while also providing specific services to victims.
- Organizations have a lot of room for improvement, for example there is a need to better protect specific groups of victims, such as people living with HIV. In many organizations the privacy of the victims is also not properly protected.
- There is not enough communication and cooperation between different organizations.
- People working in this sector deal with stress and emotional issues, most often when they are unable to help those who turn to them.
- A stable supply of funding is the core of sustainable development. More organizations are getting more government funding, which means that they are getting more recognition, but this also threatens their independence.
- Anti-domestic violence organizations need to cooperate more with different social sectors (such as legal service organizations or the media) and the government, but there is not enough motivation on the part of other sectors and the government. Solving this problem is imperative for anti-domestic violence organizations’ sustainable development.
