The Interplay of Social Norms and Legal Systems: Unraveling the Complexity of Domestic Violence in China and Paving the Path for Change

This research investigates the perpetuation of domestic violence (DV) in China by analyzing how social norms and institutional practices collectively contribute to the challenges faced by individuals experiencing DV. Despite the implementation of China's Anti-Domestic Violence Law in 2016, its effectiveness in protecting DV survivors' rights has been subject to scrutiny among researchers. This research aims to understand whether law enforcement and judicial responses post-legislation effectively align with policy objectives to mitigate DV issues. It hypothesizes a dissonance between the DV legislation and social norms emphasizing family and social harmony and non-interference in family affairs. Focusing on specific DV cases and incorporating the meta-analysis of secondary empirical data, archived governmental reports, periodicals, interviews, Confucian writings, and prior scholarly insights, this study examines how social norms and institutional practices in governmental agencies impact the framing and responses to DV cases. Findings suggest that entrenched social and gender norms shaped by Confucianism and traditional Chinese cultural values legitimize and reinforce institutional norms regarding how police and judges should downplay DV cases, leading to indifference and ineffective DV interventions. This research highlights the importance of adopting a social norms approach to effectively address this problem and the need for a transformative shift in social attitudes toward DV. It contributes to a nuanced understanding of DV and policy implementation in China, potentially serving as a significant step towards devising practical strategies to improve the protection of DV survivors at the local level.