‘There are too many women with love brains’: domestic violence and victim blaming in China

While there exists increasing awareness and legal remedies in relation to domestic violence in China, victim-blaming still exists – especially in online discourse. This research investigated public reactions to domestic violence in China, using comments made by women on Weibo – China’s largest social media platform. Thematic analysis was used to analyse 500 comments related to four extremely high-profile domestic violence cases. The analysis reveals that victim-blaming is manifested in six overlapping ways, blaming victims for: 1) choosing the wrong partner, 2) not resisting abuse, 3) failing to leave the relationship, 4) having ‘weak personalities’, 5) lacking rationality, dignity and self-love, and 6) being overly influenced by love – known as ‘love brain’. The findings not only shed light on the complexities of victim-blaming on social media in China but also illustrate the ongoing clash between modern feminist thought and entrenched patriarchal values within contemporary Chinese culture.