Guiding Opinions on Efforts to Shelter and Aid Victims of Domestic Violence

【颁布部门】 民政部 全国妇联
【Date of Promulgation】2017-05-26 
[Source]https://www.nwccw.gov.cn/2017-05/26/content_158815.htm

To the civil affairs departments (bureaus) and women's federations of all provinces, autonomous regions, and directly-governed municipalities, and the Civil Affairs Bureau and Women's Federation of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

The following Guiding Opinions on Completing Shelter and Aid Work for victims of domestic violence (hereinafter "victims") are hereby put forward on the basis of the PRC Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women, PRC Law on the Protection of Minors, PRC Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, the Provisional Measures on Social Assistance, and other relevant provisions, so as to increase the force of efforts to counter domestic violence and to lawfully protect the personal safety and lawful rights and interests of victims, especially women, minors, seniors, and other vulnerable groups.

I. Work Targets

The targets of domestic violence shelter and aid efforts refers to minors in need of shelter and aid and adult victims seeking shelter and aid who come from either habitual resident or migrant populations and who as a result of suffering domestic violence are experiencing temporary challenges such as threats to their personal safety or having no place to live. Women seeking shelter and aid may simultaneously apply for shelter and aid of minor children with them who are in need of their care.

II. Work Principles

（1）The principle of special and priority protection for minors. Provide special and priority protection for minors who have suffered domestic violence, and actively shelter and aid minor victims. Intervene in and address guardians' violations of minors' lawful rights and interests in accordance with law to effectively protect the lawful rights and interests of minors.

(2) The principle of shelter in accordance with law. Provide victims with temporary shelter and assistance services in accordance with the law, fully respect victims' reasonable wishes, and strictly protect their personal privacy. Actively use written domestic violence warnings, personal safety protection rulings, mediation, litigation, and other legal tactics to ensure victims' personal safety and safeguard their lawful rights and interests.

(3) The principle of professional assistance. Actively procure professional services such as for social work and psychological counseling, encourage victims to actively accept aid plans and support, assist domestic violence victims in overcoming negative psychological impact and behavioral disorders, assist in resolving real difficulties in marriage, lives, studies, work, and other areas, and otherwise help with a smooth return to the family and reentry into society.

(4) The principle of joint societal participation. On the foundation of giving full play to the functions, duties, and advantageous work tools of civil affairs departments and women's federation organizations, mobilize and draw in diverse social forces to participate in shelter and aid services for victims, publicity on countering domestic violence, and other such efforts; forming a joint work force with diverse participation, complementary skills, and joint coordination.

III. Work Content

(1) Promptly accept requests for aid. Women's federation organizations should promptly accept requests for aid, reports, and complaints from victims, and based on the circumstances investigated and learned of make reports to the public security organs, and request that the public security organs investigate and address the domestic violence. Where women's federation organizations and departments of civil affairs discover situations of domestic violence such as minors being abused or violent harms, they shall promptly report to the public security organs to conduct investigation, handling, intervention, and protection. The civil affairs departments and aid management bodies shall promptly accept victims that the public security organs, women's federations, and other relevant departments escort for sheltering or who proactively seek shelter, handle registration formalities, provide aid in different areas based on their sex and age, and appropriately arrange temporary aid services such as room and board, and do a good job in protecting privacy. The period for aid management bodies' shelter and aid of minor victims is not normally to exceed 10 days, and where an extension is necessary due to special circumstances, it is to be reported to the civil affairs department in charge for filing. Urban and rural community service agencies may provide emergency shelter and aid services for residents who suffer from domestic violence in the community.

(2) Provide referral services as needed. Civil affairs departments, aid management bodies. and women's federation organizations may conduct safety and needs assessments of victims through means such as cooperation with professional forces such as social work service and psychological counseling bodies, and draft a case service plan based on the physical and psychological state of the victim and their objective needs. The people's courts, and departments such as for judicial administration, human resources and social security, and health, as well as societal aid organizations, hospitals, and social organizations, should be actively coordinated with in order to provide referrals for services such as judicial relief, legal aid, marriage and family dispute resolution, occupational aid, medical aid, and psychological rehabilitation. Diverse methods such as family education guidance and guardianship oversight are to be used to urge guardians of minors who commit domestic violence to improve their guardianship methods and to increase their guardianship ability; and psychological counseling and care should be provided to minors who witness domestic violence.

(3) Strengthen the protection of victims' personal safety. As necessary, the civil affairs departments or women federations may assist victims in applying to the people's courts for personal safety protection rulings, and apply on the behalf of minor victims, to protect the victims' personal safety in accordance with law and avoid them suffering further harm from domestic violence. Where adult victims wish to leave an aid management body during the period of shelter, they should submit a written application and explain the reasons for their leaving, they may leave on their own or have their friends and family, local (resident) villager committees, or basic-level women's federation organizations escort them home. Where other guardians or relatives first come to take minor victims, then after their identity is verified by the public security organs or village (resident) committees, the aid management bodies may place the minor victim in their care and handle written formalities for the transfer.

(4) Strengthen aid and protection for minor victims. The civil affairs departments and aid management bodies should complete efforts on minor victims such as temporary guardianship, investigation and assessment, and multilateral consultations in accordance with the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate's Opinions on Several Issues on the Application of Law for Violations of Minors' Rights and Interests by their Guardians (Fafa (2014) No.24). Aid management bodies should arrange to conduct aid and protection of minor victims of domestic violence in a special location. For young minor victims, arrangements are to be made for professional social workers or dedicated persons to accompany them and provide intensive care; and after they are emotionally stable, arrangements may be made to send them for foster care in a Compassionate House as necessary. When minor victims are investigated by judicial organs, the departments for civil affairs or aid management bodies should arrange for professional social workers or dedicated personnel to accompany them, and when necessary, request that women's federation organizations appoint personnel to participate, to avoid a "second injury". For minors who have suffered severe domestic violence, the departments for civil affairs or aid management bodies and women's federation organizations may make applications to the people's courts requesting that the guardianship qualifications of the perpetrator be revoked, and separately designate a guardian in accordance with law.

IV. Work Requirements

(1) Strengthen work mechanisms. Civil affairs departments and women's federation organizations should establish effective channels for communication, and establish and complete interactive coordination mechanisms such as for regularly scheduled meetings, integrated operations, and collaborative support; detailing specific tasks, responsibilities, and cooperative processes, and jointly completing efforts on the shelter and aid of victims and the protection of their rights and interests. Civil affairs departments and aid management organizations should provide facilitation for women's federation organizations and judicial organs carrying out rights-protection services for victims, such as facilities, venues, and operational coordination. Women's federation organizations should provide rights-protection services for victims in accordance with law.

(2) Strengthen capacity building. Civil affairs departments, aid management bodies, and women's federation organizations should select staff with high political caliber and strong operational abilities to participate in efforts on sheltering and aiding victims, and operation guidance and training should be increased for staff. Aid management bodies should open up special service areas for setting up domestic violence shelters, making them relatively isolated from the relief service areas for vagrants and beggars, and areas with the capacity should fully utilize existing facilities to set up living rooms, social work rooms, psychological interview rooms, and rooms for visitation or guest meetings, etc.; the layout and environment of the facilities should be warm and comfortable. Aid management bodies should strengthen management service systems for domestic violence shelter work, establishing and completing systems such as for interview meetings, registering entries and exists, privacy protection, and information access. Women's federation organizations should strengthen the establishment of the 12338 legal hotline for rights protection and rights protection teams, to provide convenient channels and services for victims actively seeking aid, legal consultation, and rights protection in accordance with law.

(3) Mobilize societal participation. Civil affairs departments and aid management bodies may use diverse methods such as procurement of services, project cooperation, and volunteer services to encourage and support social organizations, social work service bodies, and legal services bodies' participation in domestic violence shelter and aid services, providing legal and policy consultation, psychological counseling, marital and family dispute mediation, family relations counseling, legal aid, and other services, strengthening planning and coordination for social forces. Women's federation organizations may give play to their political, organizational, and mass work advantages to mobilize and guide social forces such as compassionate enterprises, compassionate homes, and volunteers to participate in the shelter and aid of domestic violence victims through means such as charitable donations and volunteer services.

（4）Strengthen publicity and guidance. All levels of women's federation organization and civil affairs departments should actively mobilize public opinion resources, take the initiative to use emerging media, effectively use various communication positions, publish domestic violence assistance and rights protection hotlines, set up special columns on countering domestic violence, and disseminate and introduce laws and regulations against domestic violence; strengthen the legal exposition, policy interpretation, and publicity reporting on example incidents (cases) of domestic violence handled in accordance with law; guide victims to preserve evidence in a timely manner to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law; urban and rural community service agencies should actively carry out publicity on countering domestic violence to increase community residents' participation in countering domestic violence and awareness of efforts to counter domestic violence, and encourage community residents to proactively discover and report leads on domestic violence such as guardians' abuse of minors.