Changchun Municipal Regulations on Preventing and Stopping Domestic Violence

Chapter I: General Provisions

Chapter II: Prevention of Domestic Violence

Chapter III: Disposition of domestic violence

Chapter IV: Assistance on Enforcement of Personal Safety Protection Orders

Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

　　Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: This Regulation is formulated on the basis of the "Domestic Violence Law of the People's Republic of China" and other relevant laws and regulations, combined with the city's actual conditions, so as to prevent and stop domestic violence, to protect the lawful rights and interests of family members, to preserve equal, tranquil, and civilized family relationships; and to promote family harmony and social stability.

Article 2: These Regulations apply to efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence within this city's administrative regions.

Article 3: "Domestic violence' as used in these Regulations refers to physical, psychological or other infractions between family members effected through the use of methods such as beatings, restraints, maiming, restrictions on physical liberty as well as recurrent verbal abuse or intimidation.

"Family members" as used in these Regulations refers to spouses, children (including those born in wedlock, out of wedlock, adopted, or stepchildren), parents (birth parents, adoptive parents, stepparents), siblings, paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, grandchildren through sons, grandchildren through daughters, husband's parents, daughters-in-law, wife's parents, sons-in-laws, and other such relatives.

Article 4: Efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence follow the principles of putting prevention first, comprehensive treatment, and combining education, corrections and punishment.

Efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence shall respect victims' true wishes and protect parties' privacy; and information related to the parties, informants, or persons reporting domestic violence cases (incidents) must not be disclosed.

Minors, the elderly,persons with disabilities, pregnant or nursing women,and persons with serious illnesses who sustain domestic violence infractions shall be given special protections.

Article 5: Municipal and county (city) region people's governments are responsible for organizing and leading efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence, and are to include the prevention and stopping of domestic violence as content in the establishment of spiritual civilization and comprehensive social order controls, and within the scope of management target evaluations; give units and individuals with outstanding performance in preventing and stopping domestic violence commendations and awards; and ensure funding for efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence in accordance with law.

Village (township) people's governments and street level offices shall do a good job of efforts to prevent, mediate, and stop domestic violence, and to aid victims.

Article 6: Committees on Work for Women and Children of People's government at the municipal, country (city) district level have responsibility for organizing, coordinating, guiding, supervising and driving relevant departments' efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence.

Judicial organs, and departments such as for public security, civil affairs, judicial administration, health and family planning,labor unions, Communist Youth Leagues, Womens Federations, Disable Persons Federations, commissions on aging, and so forth, shall, in accordance with their own duties, implement work tasks, coordinate and cooperate, establish collaborative and interactive mechanisms for handling domestic violence cases, and long term effective mechanisms for domestic violence prevention, intervention and aid.

Article 7: residents' committees, villagers' committees, social organizations, enterprises, and public institutions, shall combine their respective characteristics and employ measures to prevent and stop acts of domestic violence, cooperating and coordinating with the relevant government departments to carry out relevant efforts.

　　Chapter II: Prevention of Domestic Violence

Article 8: Municipal and county (city) region, and village (township) people's governments or street level offices shall include publicity and education on prevention and stopping of domestic violence in their popular legal education work plans, and as a content in the establishment of a socialist spirit and civilization, spreading legal knowledge about the prevention and stopping of domestic violence.

Labor unions, the Communist Youth League, women's federations, and the Disabled Persons Federations, commissions on aging, residents' committee, and villagers' committee shall each organize the initiation of publicity and education on family values and preventing and stopping domestic violence, within the scope of their work.

Radio, television, periodicals, networks,and so forth shall carry out publicity on family values and prevention and stopping of domestic violence, lawfully carrying out supervision of public opinion on acts of domestic violence, and promoting the formation of a positive social atmosphere for prevention and stopping domestic violence.

Schools and kindergartens shall carry out education on domestic violence prevention, improve the minors' family virtue cultivation and capacity to protect themselves, and spread legal knowledge on domestic violence prevention and knowledge of family education to parents.

Article 9: Municipal, county (city) district, village (township) people's governments and street offices shall encourage and support social organizations in carrying out efforts to prevent domestic violence, and may use methods such as government procurement of services to retain social organizations to carry out services for the prevention and stopping of domestic violence such as mental health information, family relations guidance, education on prevention of domestic violence, and marital and family dispute mediation,and carry out supervision.

Article 10: Judicial organs, and departments such as for public security, civil affairs, judicial administration, health and family planning,labor unions, communist youth leagues, womens federations, Disable Persons Federrations, commissions on aging, and so forth, shall place knowledge related to the prevention and stopping of domestic violence within the scope of their operational training, and carry out training on knowledge about preventing and stopping domestic violence and raise the capacity of their staffs to perform work on prevention and stopping domestic violence.

Article 11: Public security police substations, judicial offices, residents' committees, villagers' committees, and basic level Womens Federations,shall do a good job of efforts to mediate family disputes in accordance with law, promptly facilitating and resolving family disputes, and preventing and reducing the occurrence of acts of domestic violence.

Article 12: Employing units shall do a good job of efforts to mediate and resolve employee domestic conflicts, preventing and reducing the commission of domestic violence by that unit's employees.

Article 13: Guardians of minors shall study family education information, carry out family education duties in a civilized fashion, and lawfully perform guardianship and education obligations, and must not commit domestic violence.

　　Chapter III: Disposition of Domestic Violence

Article 14: Victims of domestic violence, their legally-designated representatives and close family may make a complaint, give feedback or seek aid from the perpetrator's or victim's unit, residents' committees, villagers' committee, labor unions, Communist Youth Leagues, Womens Federations, Disable Persons Federations,or Commissions on aging.

Victims of domestic violence and their legally-designated representatives or close relatives may also report cases to the public security organs, or raise a lawsuit in the people's courts.

Units or individuals discovering currently occurring acts of domestic violence have the right to promptly discourage it, and may also report it to the public security organs.

Article 15: Where schools, kindergartens, medical establishments, residents' committees, villagers' committees, social work service organizations, relief management organizations, welfare organizations or their employees discover in the course of their work that minors, the elderly, persons with disabilities, pregnant or nursing women, or persons with serious illnesses have suffered domestic violence or might have suffered domestic violence; they shall promptly report it to a public security organ.

Article 16: The public security organ, labor union, Communist Youth League, Womens Federation, Disable Persons Federation, Commission on Aging, residents' committee, villagers' committee, or unit in which the domestic violence perpetrator or victim is located, that is the first to receive a domestic violence report, complaint, or request for assistance,shall promptly accept it and must not refuse or delay it.

The receiving unit shall complete records of the situation and dissuade, mediate, and counsel the parties. Where it can be taken care of, it must not be delayed or stalled, and where relevant departments need to handle it, they shall be promptly informed and assisted in the handling.

Article 17: Public security organs shall include domestic violence reporting in the scope of "110" dispatch work, promptly dispatching and handling domestic violence calls, and stopping domestic violence.

Article 18: After public security organs receive domestic violence calls, they shall promptly allot police forces to go to the scene and stop the domestic violence, and employ necessary measures to prevent the victim from suffering violent infractions again, conduct criticism and education the perpetrator, inform the perpetrator of the legal liability that will be borne for committing acts of domestic violence, and investigate and collect evidence in accordance with relevant provisions, gather and fix relevant evidence, and assist the victim in getting medical care or forensic assessment of injuries.

Where minors, the elderly,persons with disabilities, pregnant or nursing women, or persons with serious illnesses are seriously physically injured or face a threat to their physical safety due to domestic violence , or are in dangerous situation such as having nobody looking after them, the public security organs shall notify and assist the civil affairs departments in having them placed in a temporary shelter, aid management organization or welfare organization.

Where the victim calls the police after an incident, the public security organs shall promptly begin an investigation and follow the first article of paragraph of this article in handling it.

Article 19: In any of the following circumstances where the circumstances of domestic violence are lighter and public security administrative sanctions are not given in accordance with law, the public security organs shall issue a written warning to the perpetrator:

(1) Where minors, the elderly, persons with disabilities, pregnant and nursing women, and persons with serious illnesses perpetrate domestic violence;

(2) Where the perpetrator of domestic violence has previously been given criticism and education for committing domestic violence;

(3) Where the commission of domestic violence should be given a warning or a fine, but the perpetrator actively eliminates or reduces the harmful consequences and obtains the victims forgiveness, a public security administrative sanction is no longer given;

(4) other acts of domestic violence for which a written warning shall be issued in accordance with law.

Written warnings for domestic violence shall include content such as the identity of the perpetrator, a statement of facts of the domestic violence incident, and a prohibition against the perpetrator continuing to commit domestic violence.

Public security organs must not use written warning in place of public security administrative sanctions or criminal punishment.

Article 20: The public security police substation for the area where the incident occurred is to make a decision on written warnings for domestic violence and organize enforcement within 2 days of receiving a call to the police.

Written warnings for domestic violence and related archives shall be recorded in the comprehensive platform for public security policing information and law enforcement case-handling information system.

Article 21: Public security organs shall send the written warnings on domestic violence to the perpetrators and victims, and and have them sign for receipt. And shall inform the residents' committees or villagers' committees for the perpetrators' and victims' domiciles or habitual residences; and where the victim requests, may inform the perpetrators' unit [workplace].

Where the perpetrator refuses to sign and accept the Written Warning for Domestic Violence, the public security organs may invite two or more representatives of basic level organizations to act as authenticating witness,and have the people's police and authenticating witnesses sign it; or leave the written warning for domestic violence at the perpetrators domicile and take a picture or record a video, and it will be viewed as delivered.

Article 22: Within 10 days of the date on which the public security police substation for the victims' domicile or habitual residence should deliver the written warning, they are to conduct follow-up visits with the perpetrator or victim, and, on the basis of the follow-up visit situation, join with the residents' committee or villagers' committee for the perpetrators' and victims' domiciles or habitual residences to continue to do a good job of legal education, follow-up mediation, psychological counselling, family relations guidance, and other such work for perpetrators and victims, and supervise the perpetrator in not committing further domestic violence and make good records of the visits.

Article 23: Where perpetrators refuse to make corrections after a written warning, commit domestic violence again, and the victim does not agree to mediate, the public security organs shall give punishments in accordance with law.

Article 24: Where minors in school or kindergarten suffer injuries from domestic violence , their school or kindergarten shall promptly report it to the public security organs, and provide protection, assistance, and psychological counselling to the minors.

Article 25: Municipal and county (city) district people's governments shall clarify the forensic evaluation body for domestic violence, to conduct testing and evaluation of victim's injuries and their consequences, and provide evidence for handing acts of domestic violence. Domestic violence shelters and aid venues for the prevention and stopping of domestic violence, established independently or commissioned by aid management bodies, provide temporary living assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Article 26: Legal aid institution shall provide legal aid to victims of domestic violence that meet the requirements, and, in light of the circumstances, reduce or waive legal services fees for victims of domestic violence who do not meet the requirements for legal aid by have financial hardship,

Where a client who meets the requirements for legal aid applies for a forensic evaluation, the forensic evaluation institution shall follow provisions to reduce or waive the costs of the forensic evaluation.

Article 27: When medical and health establishments receive victims of domestic violence for treatment, they shall do a good job of recording the diagnosis and treatment. When relevant organizations investigate and collect evidence, they shall issue truthful proofs of diagnosis and treatment.

Article 28: When domestic violence victims and the representatives they retain collect evidence materials on domestic violence, relevant units, organizations, and individuals shall truthfully provide information they know of.

　　Chapter IV: Assistance on Enforcement of Personal Safety Protection Orders

Article 29: Public security organs as well as residents' and villagers' committees and other relevant organizations shall assist in enforcement of personal safety protection orders issued by the people's courts.

Article 30: Public security organs as well as residents' and villagers' committees and other relevant organizations that receive personal safety protection orders sent by the people's courts shall draft an enforcement assistance work plan, and lawfully supervise the person subject to the orders carrying out of the personal safety protection order.

Article 31: Where residents' and villagers' committees and other relevant organizations discover that the person subject to an order has conduct in violation of a personal safety protection order, they shall promptly report it to the people's court that issued the personal safety protection order or report the case to the public security organs.

Article 32: Where the person subject to a personal safety protection order refuses to perform on the order, and the applicant complains or requests help from a residents committee, villagers' committee, labor union, Communist Youth League, Womens Federation, Disable Persons Federations,or Commission on Aging, the organization or body that received the complaint or request for help, shall assist the applicant in reporting to the people's court that issued the personal safety protection order or reporting the case to the public security organs.

Article 33: Public security organs shall promptly dispatch police to handle violations of personal safety protection orders by the person subject to the order, clarify the facts, and collect and fix evidence.

Where the violation of a personal safety protection order does not constitute a crime, the public security organs shall transfer the case to the people's court that issued the personal safety protection order, and that court will handle it in accordance with law; where a crime is suspected, the public security organs shall lawfully handle it in accordance with procedures for criminal cases.

　　Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Article 34: Where perpetrators commit domestic violence, conduct that constitutes a violation of public security management are to be given public security administrative sanctions in accordance with law; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 35: Where schools, kindergartens, medical establishments, residents' committees, villagers' committees, social work service organizations, relief management organizations, welfare organizations or their employees do not promptly make a report to the public security organs, causing serious consequences, the directly responsible management personnel and other directly responsible personnel are sanctioned by the competent administrative department at the level above or by that unit.

Article 36: Where State organs or their staffs violate the provisions of these Regulations by not performing their duties in preventing and stopping domestic violence, the competent organs at the level above or their unit is responsible for making corrections; where the circumstances are serious, the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are to be given administrative discipline in accordance with law, and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Where labor unions, the Communist Youth League, women's federations, and the Disabled Persons Federations, commissions on aging, residents' committee, villagers' committee, and the party's unit shall give criticism and education do not promptly handle domestic violence complaints and requests for protection, or do not promptly stop and handle acts of domestic violence, the relevant departments shall give criticism and education to the responsible parties; and where consequences are caused, give an administrative sanction.

　　Chapter VI: Supplemental Provisions

Article 37: Where persons other than family members that have relationships such as guardianship, support, foster care, or cohabitation (romantic), and are living together, commit acts of violence against each other, proceed with reference to this Regulation.

This Regulation enters into force on October 1, 2017.