Law could mean official recognition of domestic violence in China's courts, activists say
A new law before the NPC, if passed, will offer hope to victims of abuse - perhaps even Li Yan, sentenced to die for killing her brutal husband
Li Yan, 44, battled to keep body and soul together during a short marriage of appalling violence. Today she is fighting to survive the legal system that sentenced her to death for killing her husband in self-defence.
As many as one in four women on the mainland suffer domestic violence, government figures show, but the problem is not taken seriously, women's rights activists say. Restraining orders are seldom filed against abusive partners in courts as most litigants are not aware of the option.
But that may soon change after years of lobbying. A draft anti-domestic violence ordinance had a high chance of being passed by the National People's Congress in Beijing this month, said Professor Ke Qianting, a gender studies expert at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.
"In November, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council drafted the Anti-Domestic Violence Law and tendered it for public consultation, so we are very close now," Ke said.
Meanwhile, more than 400 lawyers, researchers and rights advocates are fighting to have Li's death sentence revoked.
Standing 150cm tall and weighing just 40kg, Li married Tan Yong, her second husband, against her family's advice in March, 2009. Li was Tan's forth wife. She killed him 20 months later, after enduring constant physical abuse.
"Even after all the evil things he did to me, I had no right to take away his life. It's my fault. I shouldn't have killed him in the heat of passion. Nor should I have dissected and dumped his body," Li wrote while seeking a retrial.