Guideline clarifies standards for identifying evidence of domestic violence

Nine Central Government departments recently jointly issued a new guideline that clarifies the standards for identifying evidence of domestic violence.

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The guideline outlines the essential evidence requirements for public security authorities to establish the occurrence of domestic violence.

If the alleged perpetrator admits to committing domestic violence, statements from the perpetrator, the victim, or witnesses are crucial.

In cases where the alleged perpetrator denies the accusations of domestic violence, victim statements, or witness testimonies supported by additional corroborating evidence become essential. This corroborating evidence may include audio-visual recordings depicting instances of domestic violence, electronic data like relevant phone records, text messages, instant messages, and emails, witness testimonies from family members and neighbors, statements from minor children provided the statements are age-appropriate and consider their intellectual capacity, any prior expressions of remorse or guarantees made by the perpetrator, injury evaluations, medical records from healthcare institutions, as well as relevant complaints, reports, and pleas for assistance regarding domestic violence lodged with relevant authorities — bringing the total to eight categories of admissible evidence.

The nine central departments are: the Ministry of Public Security, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Health Commission, the All-China Women's Federation, and the Office of the State Council's Committee for Women and Children.