Feng Yuan

Women's Rights Advocate, Weiping Helpline for Survivors

Although China acknowledged some types of domestic violence as a serious issue in the 1920s–1930s, the term “domestic violence” only became widespread after the Fourth World Conference on Women of the United Nations was held in Beijing in 1995.

Since the mid-1990s, China's increasing international presence, the improved academic environment, more options for employment of women, and the relatively more open political climate have led to increased efforts to address domestic violence and, in particular, violence against women. The establishment of multiple grassroots women's organizations has led to the development of new fields of activism. As public statements against domestic violence have increased, studies on the subject of domestic violence have appeared and become part of public conversations.

The earliest materials on display in this exhibition date to the early 2000s, when authors and practitioners in China began to study domestic violence from the perspective of women’s rights and gender equality.

During the last two decades, the subject of domestic violence in China has moved from a non-issue to a serious topic in Chinese society and an area of research for both academics and advocacy groups. This transition has taken tireless behind-the-scenes efforts by several generations of scholars, practitioners, and publishers. Today, any examination of gender-based violence in China, in either Chinese or English, necessarily includes domestic abuse as among the most frequent topics of inquiry.

The materials on display, including both published and unpublished works, represent a sample of the achievements of the anti-domestic violence movement in China They are also indicative of the obstacles, resistance, backlash, frustrations, as well as challenges that many of the actors still face. The growing grassroots movement ultimately led to the passage of the 2015 Domestic Violence Law by the National People’s Congress, which entered into force on March 1, 2016. This exhibit reveals some of the early efforts of the movement with the hope that they inspire future researchers and activists. The experiences during this long journey, represented by this unique collection, has been painstakingly assembled over the years by the Fairbank Center.

I believe that such a compilation of materials represents the ultimate purpose of a library collection at an academic institution and, Together with my colleagues in China, I am greatly indebted to the Fairbank Center in making this collection available to a worldwide audience.