Procuratorate departments across China have approved the arrest of more than 2,800 suspects in domestic-violence cases, with over 3,400 individuals prosecuted since 2021, and more than 500 defendants in domestic violence cases have been sentenced to life imprisonment or heavier punishments over the past five years, China’s top procuratorate revealed on Tuesday.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) outlined the anti-domestic violence achievements and key characteristics of domestic-violence cases handled by procuratorate departments across the country, chinanews.com reported on Tuesday.
According to the SPP, criminal cases involving domestic violence have shown an overall downward trend in recent years. In 2021, procuratorate departments prosecuted more than 1,200 suspects involved in domestic violence. Since 2022, the annual number of prosecutions has dropped to below 1,000. From January to October this year, more than 300 people were prosecuted. Over the past five years, domestic-violence-related crimes have declined year by year.
The SPP said procuratorate departments have applied arrest and other coercive measures accurately in accordance with the law. In cases involving repeated domestic violence, particularly serious circumstances, or violence committed during bail or residential surveillance, arrests are approved in accordance to the law.
The arrest-approval rate for domestic violence cases is nearly 10 percentage points higher than that for general criminal cases, the SPP said. Defendants with particularly severe criminal circumstances were prosecuted with recommendations for heavier penalties.
The SPP noted that the charges in domestic-violence cases have also diversified, ranging from common ones such as intentional injury and intentional homicide to less common ones such as abuse and abandonment, all being applied accurately and appropriately. With the implementation and improvement of the "personal safety protection order" system, the offense of refusing to comply with court orders has become an important charge in combating domestic violence.
An analysis of the top five charges in domestic violence cases shows that the share of intentional injury and intentional homicide has dropped from 92.3 percent in 2021 to 57.3 percent this year, while the proportion of other charges has increased, reflecting broader protection of victims’ rights and interests.
The SPP also noted that, with the diversification of social interactions, procuratorate authorities now recognize premarital cohabitation relationship with a shared life as a family member relationship, based on the provisions and spirit of China’s criminal law and the anti-domestic violence law.
Mental abuse among family members is also classified as domestic violence, providing more comprehensive and multi-dimensional protection for victims.
According to the SPP, in handling such cases, the procuratorate departments should follow the criminal policy of balancing leniency and severity. Those who commit domestic violence with particularly cruel methods or cause severe consequences, as well as individuals who repeatedly perpetrate domestic violence over a long period of time due to alcoholism, gambling, drug abuse, or other harmful habits, should be punished strictly in accordance with the law, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
By contrast, for individuals who suffer long-term domestic violence, or who, in attempt to escape it, harm or kill the abuser while in a state of fear or helplessness, their motives and the circumstances of the offense should be fully taken into account, and they should be dealt with leniently in accordance with the law, according to CCTV.
The SPP stressed that accurately determining legitimate self-defense in domestic violence cases is essential. Procuratorate departments should make a comprehensive assessment based on factors such as the severity of the violence being committed by the abuser, the cruelty of the methods used, the defender’s environment, the level of danger faced, the means used to stop the violence, the extent of harm caused to the abuser, and the history of prior domestic violence. When the conditions for legitimate self-defense are met, prosecutors should have the courage to decline arrest approval or prosecution, in accordance with the law.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/1126/c90000-20395145.html