Media coverage of domestic violence-related issues in China

Abstract

Domestic violence-related issues in China have attracted extensive attention since the Anti-Domestic Violence Law was implemented in 2016. This project builds on framing theory, the law and social movements perspective, and a discussion of ethnocentrism to address how the Chinese state-owned (English-language) and British privately-owned media represented domestic violence-related issues in China from 2016 to 2022. The findings of this research demonstrated that China Daily passively participated the simultaneous process of media campaign and legal tactic, referenced legal actors’ ideas on initiating top-down legal reform to close legal loopholes and improve the effectiveness of law enforcement, and educated the public to remove outdated traditional ideas. The Chinese media coverage on domestic violence-related issues can be characterized as taking a responsive approach, as they largely reference elite legal actors’ discourse on pragmatic solutions for domestic violence. Conversely, the British media broadened the discussion of domestic violence-related issues in China to critique socialist values and the Communist party (government). The Guardian and The Economist emphasized the importance of bottom-up feminist movements and individual activists’ contributions in ending domestic violence. The ethnocentrism of the British publications resulted in their overlooking Chinese law and social movements in the context of domestic violence.