A few years back, I interviewed a victim named Sun Xueqing, from Hangzhou. Her husband Mo Wenhui received a six-month jail sentence for throwing her from a balcony. Her spine was broken. Her lawyer explained : "My personal guess is that the court saw it as a family dispute. He wouldn't have gotten away with it so easily if he had thrown a woman other than his wife from the second floor."
I'm so sorry the last statement is so twisted, it makes me cringe. So, I guess the prevailing wisdom is that women are still property then, right? Because that's what I'm reading between the lines.
Some argue that domestic violence appears to be on the rise in China only because more women are speaking out against it. Wu Changzhen from China University, professor of political science and law and a leading expert on women's issues, believes otherwise. She argues that the increasing economic pressure put on Chinese citizens, and the loosening of family ties, leave women more vulnerable to their husband's violent impulses.
Also, I'd like to add, that women who grew up with abuse fathers have a tendency to marry abusive men. Well, that and family pressure to get married once you reach a certain age often results in bad partner choices. Being divorced in America carries enough stigma, but here in the Middle Kingdom, it's a double whammy - divorced and childless.
I have a friend who is in her early thirties, never met a guy, has yet to get married. The way her relatives treat her is abusive. They even attack her mom for not pressuring her to get married to the first guy that shows interest in her. I told her not to let it get in her head and to keep her contact with them limited. It's tough being Chinese. The family pressure is so strong.