BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China's top court said on Monday that courts across the country have issued around 33,000 personal safety protection orders since the anti-domestic violence law took effect in 2016, as the law marks its 10th anniversary this year.
The personal safety protection order, a civil injunction mechanism that allows victims to seek swift legal protection, is a centerpiece of the 2016 law, which was China's first legislation specifically targeting domestic abuse.
At a briefing on Monday, the Supreme People's Court said the 33,000 orders had been issued over the past decade.
The court also released four typical cases to clarify legal standards for identifying domestic violence and to reinforce the enforceability of protection orders.
In one case, a man was detained for 15 days after returning to the victim's home and assaulting her and her relatives, despite having been served with a protection order. Police notified the court after responding to the incident, and judges ordered the detention in what the court described as giving protection orders "teeth."
Two of the cases illustrated how courts are recognizing non-physical forms of abuse. In one divorce case, a man's prolonged insults and humiliation toward his spouse were deemed to constitute psychological control.
In another case, a man was found to have imposed a form of "soft violence" by restricting his wife from talking to other men without any evidence of wrongdoing, effectively trapping her in what the court called an "invisible cage."
A further case highlighted economic control as a form of domestic violence. A man with a physically disabled wife restricted her access to medical care and controlled their finances to force her compliance. The court issued a protection order and coordinated with local authorities to help the woman receive job training, aiming to prevent future abuse by strengthening her economic independence. ■
