NCJ Number: 180042
Title: Enduring Violence and Staying in Marriage: Stories of Battered Women in Rural China
Journal: Violence Against Women Volume:5 Issue:12 Dated:December 1999 Pages:1469-1492
Author(s): Meng Liu; Cecilia Chan
Date Published: 1999
Page Count: 24
Type: Report (Study/Research)
Format: Article
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: Information collected from interviews, focus group sessions, and participant observations in a clan village with 76 households and 304 people in a rural area of Anhui Province of southeastern China was used to study the social and personal dynamics that restrict the options of battered women in rural China.
Abstract: Battered women in many countries have used divorce as a way to end their abusive experiences. However, the government and social norms have strictly controlled divorce in China. Therefore, battered women in China seldom use divorce as a way out of an abusive relationship. The 10 interviewed women ranged in age from 25 to 46 years, had attended school for an average of 2.4 years, had been married an average of 9.7 years, and had experienced spouse abuse for an average of 5 years. Two women reported serious physical harm, five reported moderate harm, and three reported minor harm as a result of the abuse. None sought medical attention. Enduring their violent situations was the major theme that summarized the lives of these participants. Social, cultural, familial, and personal factors interacted to constitute their specific coping processes. Findings indicated that rural battered women in China do not seek divorce because they accept the fact of being beaten, adopt a positive attitude in life, are disadvantaged in resource control, and finding their coping strategies to be largely effective. China's patriarchal culture and social structures continue, the socialist social welfare system lacks special services for battered women, and the inadequacy of social support and services probably contributes to battered women's feelings that they must endure the violence and stay in the relationship. 63 references
Main Term(s): Victims in foreign countries
Index Term(s): Abusing spouses; Battered wives; China; Cultural influences; Domestic assault; Domestic relations; Female victims; Foreign laws; Marital problems; Rural area studies; Spouse abuse causes; Victim attitudes
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