Today’s White Ribbon Day comes as a result of a global movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls. The campaign this year comes at a time when violence against women has spiked globally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with China reporting that during lockdown domestic violence cases in the Hubei province increased by 115 cases since the previous year.
The recent case of Tibetan farmer Lhamo, a popular social media user who died following an alleged attack carried out by her ex-husband, has sparked a conversation about how China’s legal system handles cases of domestic abuse.
Ms. Lhamo amassed over 200,000 followers on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, and was known for her videos on the platform in which she cooked, sang and picked herbs from the mountains around her village in southwestern China.
One evening in September, Ms. Lhamo was on a livestream when a man came into the room causing her to scream and the screen went black – all happening as hundreds of her followers watched on. Local media reports that her ex-husband allegedly doused her in petrol and set fire to her. As a result of the attack, Ms. Lhamo suffered burns on 90% of her body and died two weeks later.
China’s Anti-Domestic Violence Law was passed in 2015 in a bid to help prevent domestic violence and protect the equal rights of family members. More than 900 women have died at the hands of their partners since this law was passed.
But the fact that China is not the only country that has seen a rise in cases since the coronavirus outbreak shows that this is a global issue.
In the UK so far this year there have been over 9000 domestic violence offences, and 955 of those have happened since the start of lockdown.
Recently there was a social media frenzy after UK artist Octavian was exposed by his former partner for domestic abuse. His ex-girlfriend Hana took to Instagram to detail the “constant verbal, physical and psychological” abuse that she endured over the three years they were together. Hana also uploaded pictures and videos showing a few of the many injuries she sustained at the hands of her abuser. Many followers praised her courage to speak out, whilst others condemned Octavian and contacted his management in order to get him removed from streaming platforms.
Many women do not make it out of these situations alive, and if they do it takes on average eight attempts before they fully leave their abusive partners. Domestic abusers do not have a specific colour, age or status and often possess narcissistic traits that allow them to integrate perfectly into society, making it hard to identify them. Many women keep the domestic violence they are experiencing hidden out of fear of not being believed, which means that unless someone witnesses it first hand, it gos unreported.
Due to the coronavirus, White Ribbon Day will be virtual this year, but organisers have made it easy for people to spread awareness from their homes by simply downloading the free poster provided and putting it up in their windows.
It is hard to find a solution or cure for the hidden pandemic that is domestic violence as most cases go unreported, but what we can do is continue to raise awareness and create an environment where women feel comfortable enough to speak out.
For more information on Domestic Violence please visit: www.refuge.org.uk