Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of the Personal Safety Protection Order System

Promulgation Date: 2022-3-3
Title: Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of the Personal Safety Protection Order System
Document Number:法发〔2022〕10号
Expiration date: 
Promulgating Entities: 最高人民法院 教育部 民政部等
Source of text: https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-348601.html

The following Opinions on strengthening the implementation of the personal safety protection order system are hereby released so as to further complete efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence, to protect the lawful rights and interests of family members, especially women, minors, seniors, and persons with disabilities, to maintain family relations that are equal, harmonious, and civil; and to promote family harmony and social stability.

1. Adhere to the guidance of Xin Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era. Thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on emphasizing families, family education, and family atmospheres, to actively foster and practice the Core Socialist Values in families, cultivate a positive family atmosphere, carry forward family values, and to prevent and stop domestic violence to the greatest extent possible.

2. Adhere to the principle of promptly and effectively protecting victims in accordance with law. Each department should continue to expand the degree of support for victims of domestic violence in areas such as temporary shelter, legal aid, and judicial aid, establishing a multi-level, diversified, and three-dimensional aid system. The private and abrupt nature of domestic violence should be deeply acknowledged, increasing domestic violence victims awareness of evidence, and guiding them to promptly preserve and submit evidence in accordance with law.

3. Adhere to the principle of respecting the victims' true wishes. All departments receiving complaints, feedback, or calls for assistance related to domestic violence, as well as in accepting or referring cases, shall hear the victims' opinions on questions such as what type of protection measures are to be employed, whether to apply for a personal safety protection order, and how to address the perpetrator, and increase psychological counseling for victims.

4. Adhere to the principle of protecting the parties' privacy. When accepting cases, assisting in enforcement, performing mandatory reporting obligations, and in other such work, all departments shall emphasize protecting the privacy of all parties, especially minors. Where victims have already moved out of the residence they share with the perpetrator, the perpetrator must not be informed of means of their whereabouts or contact methods, and the victims' current addresses must not be listed in any documents or receipts. In principle, personal safety protection orders are not to be made public.

5. Promote the establishment of mechanisms to coordinate all departments' efforts to counter domestic violence. Actively promote the inclusion of the prevention and control of domestic violence in the comprehensive system for public order, giving play of the role of peaceful construction evaluation mechanisms. Improve systems for units such as the people's courts, public security organs, civil affairs departments, judicial administrative departments, health departments, and women's federations to jointly participate in efforts to counter domestic violence. Fully utilize achievements in information technology to strengthen coordination and sharing of data between departments. Explore using methods such as special case files and graded alerts for precision tracking and real-time oversight.

6. The public security organs shall strengthen their conception and understanding of lawful interventions in domestic violence, increasing the force of police handling of domestic violence, strengthening warnings of perpetrators, and issuing written warnings for domestic violence in accordance with laws and regulations. Emphasize collecting and fixing evidence, actively cooperating with the people's courts to gather evidence in accordance with their authority, and submit documents such as police records, written warnings, and records of questioning (or interrogation). Areas with the capacity may establish joint mechanisms against domestic violence with units such as the people's courts, civil affairs departments, and women's federations, and circulate written warnings.

7. The civil affairs departments shall strengthen training and guidance for residents' committees, villagers' committees, social work service organizations, aid management organizations, welfare organizations, and so forth. Where residents' committees, villagers' committees, social work service organizations, aid management organizations, welfare organizations, or their employees discover in the course of their work that a person lacking civil capacity or with limited civil capacity has suffered domestic violence or might have suffered domestic violence; they shall promptly report it to a public security organ. Implement the Guiding Opinions on Completing Efforts to Shelter Victims of Domestic Violence, strengthening the construction, staffing, funding, and equipment of temporary shelter sites, to promptly provide domestic violence victims with placements, legal aid, mediation for marital and familial disputes, and other aid services.

8. The judicial administration departments shall increase the extent of legal aid for domestic violence victims, clearing channels for application for legal aid, and building a sound service network. Based on actual conditions, each region may rely on local women's federations and others to establish legal aid work stations or contact points to facilitate victims of domestic violence seeking legal aid near them. Strengthen publicity on laws and regulations such as the Domestic Violence Law, Law on Protection of Minors, Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests, Law on the Protection of the Elderly's Rights and Interests. Give full play to the beneficial role of people's mediation to look into and resolve marital disputes and prevent the occurrence of domestic violence.

9. Medical establishments that discover in the course of treatment that injured persons might have suffered domestic violence, should make detailed records of the party's registration information and treatment, and accurately, objectively, and fully record the injured party's complaints, injuries, and treatment in their medical history. Establish a joint mechanism for medical care and policing, so that where it is discovered in the course of treatment that a person who lacks or has limited civil capacity has suffered or potentially suffered domestic violence, a report shall promptly be made to the public security organs, and the public security organs shall be actively assisted in collecting treatment materials.

10. Schools and kindergartens shall strengthen publicity and education on laws and regulations such as the Law on Protection of Minors, Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, and Domestic Violence Law. Emphasize cooperation of schools and families. Where it is discovered that minors have suffered or potentially suffered domestic violence, reports shall be promptly made to relevant departments such as for public security, civil affairs, and education, in accordance with the Provisions on Schools' Protection of Minors. Pay attention to protecting the privacy of minors, strengthening the extent of psychological counseling and interventions.

11. The people's courts shall establish a 'green channel' for personal safety protection order cases, increasing the extent of evidence collection in accordance with authority to promptly issue personal safety protection orders in accordance with law. All basic level people's courts and their remote tribunals shall provide case guidance services for parties applying for personal safety protection orders in their case filing halls or litigation service centers.

12. Adhere to the principle of the best interests of minors. When departments hear the comments of minors on the facts of domestic violence or make records of their questioning, they shall fully consider the physical and psychological characteristics of minors, provide an appropriate environment, employ methods of questioning that can be understood by the minors, and protect their privacy and safety. When necessary, arrangements may be made for a psychological consultant or social worker to assist. Where minors are the victims in a personal safety protection order case, the people's courts may notify the legal aid institutions to provide them with legal aid. Where minor children are testifying as witnesses, they are allowed to testify without appearing in court.

13. Where in the course of accepting complaints, feedback, or requests for aid from domestic violence or in addressing martial and family disputes, departments discover that a party has suffered domestic violence or has an imminent risk of suffering domestic violence, they shall proactively notify the party that they may apply to the people's courts for a personal safety protection order.

14. After people's courts issue a personal safety protection order, it shall be served to the parties within 24 hours and concurrently sent to the local police substation, residents' committee, or villagers' committee, and depending on the circumstances may also send it to organizations such as local women's federations, schools, organizations for the protection of minors, Disabled Persons Federations, and lawfully-established seniors' organizations.

15. When the people's courts serve personal safety protection orders, they shall emphasize explanation and persuasive education, urging the subject of the order to comply with the personal safety protection order and informing them of the legal consequences of violating the order. Where the subject of the order does not fulfil the personal safety protection order or violates it, the applicant may apply to the people's courts to compel performance. Where the violation of a personal safety protection order does not constitute a crime, the people's courts shall give reprimands and may, on the basis of the severity, give a fine of up to 1000 yuan and detention of up to 15 days.

16. When the people's courts serve personal safety protection orders, they may simultaneously send a notice for assistance in enforcement to the local police substation, residents' committee, villagers' committee, women's federation, schools, and so forth, and the notice shall indicate the matters for assistance in enforcement. The relevant units shall provide assistance in accordance with the content of the notice.

17. During the period that a personal safety protection order is in effect, the content that public security organs are to assist in enforcing may include: Assistance in urging the subject of the personal safety protection order to comply with the order; where during the effective period of the personal safety protection order the subject of the order violates it, the public security organs shall promptly dispatch police after receiving and shall stop the illegal conduct; aiding and protecting the victims after receiving a report, and gathering and fixing evidence; and where it is discovered that the subject of a personal safety protection order has violated the order, notifying the peoples court of the situation, etc.

18. During the period that a personal safety protection order is in effect, the content that residents' committees, villagers' committees, women's federations, and schools are to assist in enforcing may include: Periodically visiting or making follow-up records during the period that a personal safety protection order is in effect and completing the corresponding forms, to be signed by the parties at the completion of the effective period and sent back to the court; where it is discovered that the subject of a personal safety protection order has violated it, they shall be given criticism and education and a feedback form is to be completed regarding the situation, assist the victim in promptly contacting people's court or public security organs; Give legal education to the perpetrator and provide psychological counseling to the perpetrator and to the victims as necessary.

19. In receiving complaints, feedback, or requests for aid involving domestic violence, or in addressing marital and familial disputes, departments may explore bringing in social workers and psychological counseling mechanisms to resolve ease the psychological trauma to victims and minor children, correct the conceptual and behavioral deviations of aggressor, and avoid an escalation of violence, and fundamentally reduce the occurrence of malignant events.

20. Each department shall fully recognize the importance of the personal safety protection order system, increasing the extent of study and training, becoming familiar with the specific content such as on the applying entities, issuing procedures, and assistance in enforcement, and strengthen popular legal education and publicity on personal safety protection orders.

Supreme People's Court, All-China Women's Federation

Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security

Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Justice

National Health Commission

March 3, 2022