Violenza di genere tra le mura domestiche: Repubblica Popolare Cinese e Taiwan

The phenomenon of gender-based domestic violence in both the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan has its roots in the traditional, highly hierarchical Confucian culture, which for centuries has subordinated women to male figures. Marriage equality, which was introduced simultaneously into the laws of the Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, has not been able to curb a phenomenon that has long been unable to cross the threshold of the home. Only recently has the leg- islature intervened with ad hoc laws to curb domestic violence. In the PRC and Taiwan, the timing was different, dictated by social conditions that influenced the need to send a signal of protection to victims, but there are still some critical issues in the laws and regulations. In Taiwan, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act dates back to 1998, while in mainland China, the first such law was enacted in 2016. This article aims to analyse the main differences and similarities that emerge from both the socio-cultural aspects and the legal texts, looking at the definitions of ‘domestic violence’ and the institution of domestic violence protection orders in both legal systems.