Exploring how Chinese define violence against women: A focus group study in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article examines issues of naming and defining violence against women in the context of Chinese societies. The first part discusses the differences between feminist and crime approaches to defining violence against women. The second part presents the findings of a focus group study which aimed to examine how Chinese people define and make sense of the term violence against women. Our study shows that the power of the term lies in turning people's attention from violence in general to violence directed against women. However, the use of the term violence tends to limit Chinese people's conception to the use of brute force (bao-li). It is suggested that an interchangeable use of the terms violence against women, women abuse and/or violation of women would facilitate women sharing their views and experiences. Findings also point to the development of a set of non-physical, subjective criteria in defining violence against women in Chinese societies.