Legal clarification will make it easier for offenders to be prosecuted

Legal practitioners predict big changes after the law prohibiting domestic violence comes into force on Tuesday. Wang Xinliang, of the Shandong Xinliang Law Firm, said the new legislation will establish a definition of domestic violence that will be paramount when he acts in cases in the future.

In the past, the courts had difficulty classifying abuse as such, meaning that few women were able to cite domestic violence as a reason for filing for divorce.

Wang recalled a case where a woman had two police statements and a medical report that proved she had suffered abuse, but was still unable to win her case. "The judge said falling out (with her husband) two or three times did not constitute domestic violence. Even with a wealth of evidence, the lawyers were unable to prove that the woman was a victim of abuse," he said.