Compiled from: Supreme People's Court, Guangdong Women's Federation
 
On July 29, the 22nd session of the 13th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee unanimously voted to pass the "Guangdong Province Measures for Implementing the " (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), effective from October 1, 2020.

 
 

[1] The "Measures" refine the definition of domestic violence, clarifying that harm committed through online means also constitutes domestic violence; improve the mandatory reporting system by including individuals unable to report due to old age, disability, severe illness, coercion, or intimidation as protected persons; enrich the measures for personal safety protection orders, allowing for multiple protection measures to be applied and courts to issue them in batches; and innovatively expand the scope of protection, explicitly recognizing minors who witness domestic violence as victims of domestic violence... Multiple highlights reflect Guangdong's characteristics.

 

 
[2] Highlights of the "Measures": Reflecting Guangdong's Characteristics
[3] Highlight One:
[4] Domestic violence acts are categorized, with "freezing or starving," "stalking," "harassment," and "disclosing privacy" explicitly defined as domestic violence. The "Measures" categorize domestic violence into five aspects: harmful acts, acts restricting personal freedom, acts threatening personal safety, acts of mental harm, and other domestic violence acts. Based on practical work needs and responding to social concerns, "freezing or starving," "confinement," "stalking," "harassment," "defamation," and "disclosing privacy" are explicitly defined as domestic violence. It clarifies that harmful acts committed through online or other means also constitute domestic violence.
 
[5] Highlight Two:
[6] Anti-domestic violence efforts involve social co-governance, with timely reporting to the police required when victims face threats to personal safety. Multiple provisions of the "Measures" stipulate the duties and obligations of people's organizations, village (neighborhood) committees, social organizations, enterprises, and institutions in carrying out anti-domestic violence work. It stipulates that any unit or individual has the right to intervene in ongoing domestic violence and should promptly report to public security authorities when victims face threats to personal safety.
 
Highlight 3:
Establish a comprehensive prevention system for anti-domestic violence work, incorporating domestic violence prevention into grid-based management. The Measures focus on strengthening the publicity and education of family virtues and anti-domestic violence laws and regulations, conducting professional training, promoting the construction and sharing of information resources, and resolving marital and family conflicts, clarifying the responsibilities of relevant parties. Among them, it requires people's governments at all levels to include family education guidance services in the urban and rural public service system; requires civil affairs departments to guide marriage registration agencies in providing marriage and family counseling services to marriage registrants; and requires schools and kindergartens to conduct self-protection awareness education for students and children.
 
Highlight 4:
Establish and improve a joint working mechanism for anti-domestic violence, with major cases of severe social impact to be handled collectively. The Measures clarify the responsibilities of people's governments at or above the county level in establishing a joint working mechanism for anti-domestic violence. It requires the first-receiving department or unit to handle, follow up, and refer cases according to their work duties; for major domestic violence cases involving multiple departments or units, or cases with severe social impact, they should jointly handle them with other relevant departments or units.
 
Highlight 5:
Improve the mandatory reporting system, expanding the scope of protected individuals and reporting entities. Include individuals unable to report due to old age, disability, severe illness, coercion, or intimidation as protected persons, and add people's mediation organizations and their staff as mandatory reporting entities.
 
Highlight 6:
Standardize police response to domestic violence calls; a warning letter must be issued in four specified situations.
It is explicitly required that police incorporate domestic violence alerts into the "110" emergency response system. Upon receiving a domestic violence report, police must promptly respond, create a response record, and carry out tasks such as stopping the violence, collecting evidence, ascertaining basic facts, assisting with rescue, arranging injury assessments, facilitating shelter, and informing victims of their rights. For domestic violence acts that violate public security administration, police must accept and investigate the case according to law; if a crime is suspected, a criminal investigation must be initiated. If the domestic violence is minor and does not warrant public security penalties, and falls under one of four circumstances, including "failure to obtain victim mediation," police must issue a warning letter.
 
Highlight 7:
Expand measures for personal safety protection orders, allowing multiple protective measures to be applied for and issued by courts in batches. The regulation stipulates that personal safety protection orders may include measures such as "restraining orders," "stay-away orders," and "eviction orders." It also provides that if an applicant applies for multiple personal safety protection measures, the people's court may issue them in separate batches.
 
Highlight 8:
A special chapter stipulates assistance for victims of domestic violence, requiring temporary shelters to protect victims' privacy. Emphasis is placed on aiding victims, with a dedicated chapter on "Assistance for Victims of Domestic Violence," providing multi-level, diverse, and comprehensive support through temporary shelter, social assistance, legal aid, and judicial relief, covering temporary accommodation, legal needs, psychological services, and hardship assistance.
 
Highlight 9:
Improving the family investigation system and the lawyer investigation and evidence collection system to address difficulties in evidence submission. It specifies that in domestic violence civil lawsuits, if victims cannot collect evidence on their own due to objective reasons, they may entrust lawyers to investigate and collect relevant evidence in accordance with the law.
 
Highlight 10:
Innovatively expanding the scope of protection, recognizing minors who witness domestic violence as victims. Strengthening the protection of minors, it clarifies that minors who witness domestic violence are considered victims of domestic violence.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
From the ten highlights above, it is evident that the "Measures" innovate relevant work systems and measures, striving to build a domestic violence prevention and control system with Guangdong characteristics. This is a major initiative by Guangdong to deeply implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on family civilization construction and women's and children's work, and to earnestly implement the "Anti-Domestic Violence Law." It holds significant importance for advancing anti-domestic violence efforts across the province, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of women and children, promoting family harmony, and maintaining social stability.

 
 

[1] The Measures not only align with the actual conditions of Guangdong Province, respond to public concerns, and highlight the value orientation of the new era, but also further refine the institutional provisions of the higher-level law on combating domestic violence, facilitating the effective implementation of the higher-level law, accelerating the creation of a social governance pattern of joint contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits, and building Guangdong Province into one of the safest, most stable, fairest, and most law-based regions in the country.