published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Violence against women, especially wife abuse, is a social problem that exists in almost every country in the world. China is no exception. Statistics show that wife abuse in present-day China is prevalent and serious. However, this social problem was largely invisible until the early 1990s. At present, it is still not recognized at the official level and there has been no systematic in-depth research on it to date. North American feminists have long realized the seriousness of this issue and have since done a great deal of research with respect to the causes, prevalence and control of wife abuse. Their perspectives reflect the social reality in North American countries, but are they useful for other countries? This thesis tries to explore a feminist approach to the analysis of violence against women in the home in China's context, especially the lack of political will, which inevitably results in the failure of the criminal justice system to enforce the laws against wife abuse. The thesis tries to prove that violence against women in the home is a serious social problem in China that must be recognized and dealt with effectively. In order to control it, a sincere political commitment to deal with the problem is of paramount importance. The joint efforts of all social sectors, the criminal justice system in particular, are vital to guarantee gender equality in the private sphere. The thesis considers western feminist theories with respect to violence against women in the home as a gendered issue and the impact of feminist perspectives on controlling wife battery in western countries; investigates the dimensions and causes of wife abuse in China, demonstrating that this abuse is an unrecognized but serious social problem in China; explores the existing legislative protection of crime victims in China; analyzes the existing problems with the criminal justice system with respect to providing assistance to battered wives; discusses various reasons why the criminal justice system fails battered women in China, including the factors of state policy, women's federations, patriarchal ideology, mass media and social indifference, and gives suggestions on how to prevent and control spousal assault.

Violence against women, especially wife abuse, is a social problem that exists in almost every country in the world. China is no exception. Statistics show that wife abuse in present-day China is prevalent and serious. However, this social problem was largely invisible until the early 1990s. At present, it is still not recognized at the official level and there has been no systematic in-depth research on it to date. North American feminists have long realized the seriousness of this issue and have since done a great deal of research with respect to the causes, prevalence and control of wife abuse. Their perspectives reflect the social reality in North American countries, but are they useful for other countries? This thesis tries to explore a feminist approach to the analysis of violence against women in the home in China's context, especially the lack of political will, which inevitably results in the failure of the criminal justice system to enforce the laws against wife abuse. The thesis tries to prove that violence against women in the home is a serious social problem in China that must be recognized and dealt with effectively. In order to control it, a sincere political commitment to deal with the problem is of paramount importance. The joint efforts of all social sectors, the criminal justice system in particular, are vital to guarantee gender equality in the private sphere. The thesis considers western feminist theories with respect to violence against women in the home as a gendered issue and the impact of feminist perspectives on controlling wife battery in western countries; investigates the dimensions and causes of wife abuse in China, demonstrating that this abuse is an unrecognized but serious social problem in China; explores the existing legislative protection of crime victims in China; analyzes the existing problems with the criminal justice system with respect to providing assistance to battered wives; discusses various reasons why the criminal justice system fails battered women in China, including the factors of state policy, women's federations, patriarchal ideology, mass media and social indifference, and gives suggestions on how to prevent and control spousal assault. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

近年來國際文獻日益意識到移民與虐妻之間的關係。有鑑於此，本文嘗試以十一位中港跨境婚姻中受虐移民婦女的個案，透過分析其深入訪談資料，以交織性探索的理論框架探討發生於這種婚姻關係中對移民婦女的親密伴侶暴力行為。研究結果顯示這類暴力行為由遷移、性別、階級及文化等社會體系互相交織而造成，致使受虐移民婦女於法律、經濟、社交及文化等各個層面受到多重制肘，令她們不得不固守於暴力關係之中。此外，本研究展示了遷移如何與移民婦女的階級不利位置、婚姻中的性別不平等及傳統中國文化對於婚姻與家庭的規範互相影響，從而增加她們受虐的風險和削弱其處理暴力的能力。由於虐妻對不同社會背景的女性所帶來的影響不盡相同，社會工作者、政策制定者以及研究人員必須理解各個社會體系如何互為交織並引致暴力行為，以有效照顧及協助移民婦女的需要。最後，本論文對現有相關政策作出建議，以期為移民婦女提供適切有效的預防及介入，從而減低她們受虐的風險。 / With the increasing recognition of the linkage between wife abuse and migration in the literature, this study examines violence against female marriage migrants in the context of Mainland-Hong Kong cross-border marriages under an intersectional framework. Using 11 in-depth interviews with battered marriage migrants from Mainland China, findings of this study revealed that abuses against immigrant women perpetrated by their intimate partners was a result of the intersections between migration, gender, class, and culture, which rendered immigrant women legally, economically, socially, and culturally trapped in the abusive marriages. This study demonstrates how migration increased marriage migrants’ vulnerability to violence and jeopardized their ability to manage violence through interacting with their class disadvantages, gender inequalities within their marriages, and their traditional cultural norms about marriage and family. As wife abuse does not have a uniform impact on all women, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers must be cognizant of the intersectional nature of violence and ensure that marriage migrants’ needs are appropriately catered for when tackling violence against the immigrant population. Policy implications and recommendations which address the urgent needs of providing appropriate and effective intervention for immigrant women are discussed at last. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Chiu, Tuen Yi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-48). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Literature review --- p.5 / Chapter 3 --- Research site --- p.9 / Chapter 4 --- Research method --- p.13 / Chapter 5 --- Results --- p.14 / Chapter 5.1 --- Immigration and Wife Abuse --- p.14 / Chapter 5.2 --- Immigration, Gender inequalities, and Wife Abuse --- p.18 / Chapter 5.3 --- Immigration, Economic Marginalization, and Wife Abuse --- p.21 / Chapter 5.4 --- Immigration, Culture, and Wife Abuse --- p.24 / Chapter 6 --- Discussion and recommendations --- p.28 / Chapter 7 --- References --- p.41

丈夫向妻子使用暴力是最常見的性別暴力形式，相比於其他人際間暴力行為更為常見。過往文獻對家庭暴力風險的分佈模式已形成不同的理論解釋，但鮮有研究者試圖在華人社會中探討並檢驗這些從西方社會脈絡中發展出來的理論。本論文將運用資源理論、性別觀點、社會控制等理論視角以解釋香港社會中的家庭暴力行為。 / 本論文使用量化研究方法驗證數個關於家庭暴力社會文化因素的假設。所使用的是2007年在香港一個西北區域收集到的住戶調查數據。該調查在使用概率抽樣下，成功訪問了871對伴侶 (共1, 742人) 。樣本中，10.7%的丈夫在過去一年曾向妻子使用過暴力。本論文主要由三篇獨立成章的實證研究論文組成，每篇論文各自針對一個理論視角指出其不足之處並檢驗過往研究中鮮被驗證過的論點。 / 第一篇論文指出，夫妻間收入差距和丈夫的全職工作降低了丈夫在夫妻關係中的權力慾望，並因此降低了丈夫暴力對待妻子的風險。中介分析驗証了夫婦間收入差距和丈夫的全職工作對丈夫向妻子使用暴力行為存在間接效應。第二篇論文指出，夫妻雙方的性別態度交互地影響了家庭暴力的風險分佈。當妻子持有非傳統的性別態度時，丈夫的傳統性別態度和使用暴力呈正相關。而當丈夫持有傳統的性別態度時，妻子的傳統性別態度則和丈夫使用暴力的風險呈負相關。研究發現，控制了其他變項後，家庭暴力風險最高的伴侶组合為傳統丈夫和非傳統妻子。第三篇論文分析指出，婚姻衝突和丈夫向妻子動武的相關程度受朋輩對伴侶間使用暴力的看法所影響。當朋輩贊同對配偶使用暴力時，婚姻衝突更有可能轉化為家庭暴力。但只有對存在婚姻衝突的伴侶來說，朋輩贊同對配偶使用暴力的看法才會增加家庭暴力的發生風險。 / 本論文意在表明家庭暴力成因的複雜性。影響丈夫向妻子使用暴力的各個因素不單相互連結，而且各個因素交互地影響了家庭暴力的風險分佈。此項研究結果反映了社會需要一套綜合的預防及干預策略，通過不同層面的角色合作以减少家庭暴力。 / Husband-to-wife violence is the most common form of gender-based violence and is much more prevalent than many other forms of interpersonal violence. In the literature, some theories are developed to explain the prevalence pattern of husband-to-wife violence. The focus of this thesis is on the applications and discussions of resource theories, gender ideology and a social control perspective. These theories are primarily developed in the Western context. However, empirical tests of these theories in Chinese societies are still rare. / A quantitative approach is adopted in this thesis to empirically test the hypotheses about the relationship between socio-cultural factors and husband-to-wife violence in Hong Kong. A household survey, with a probability sample, was conducted in a northwestern district of Hong Kong in 2007. In total, 871 couples (1,742 respondents) had completed the survey. The prevalence rate of husband-to-wife physical assault over the past year was 10.7%. The main body of this thesis contains three empirical papers analyzing the prevalence pattern of husband-to-wife violence in Hong Kong. Each of the papers addresses the limitations of a theoretical perspective and contributes by testing some of the ideas from the above perspectives that have not been empirically examined in past studies. / In the first paper, the analysis shows that a couple’s income difference and the husband’s full-time employment are negatively associated with the husband’s desire to have more decision-making power in the relationship, while the husband’s desire to have more power in the relationship is positively associated with husband-to-wife physical assault. Mediation tests confirm that a couple’s income difference and the husband’s full-time employment status have exerted indirect effects on husband-to-wife violence through the husband’s power motive. In the second paper, the analysis shows that the interaction of couples’ gender role attitudes plays important role in shaping the risk of husband-to-wife physical assault. Husbands’ gender role traditionalism is positively associated with husband-to-wife physical assault only when they are coupled with wives who have non-traditional attitudes. Wives’ gender role traditionalism is negatively associated with husband-to-wife physical assault only when they are coupled with traditional husbands. Non-traditional wives with traditional husbands face the highest risk of husband-to-wife violence, controlling for other factors. The third empirical paper shows that the strength of association between marital conflict and husband-to-wife violence in Hong Kong was conditioned by peer approval of spousal violence. The association between marital conflict and violence is stronger for couples who had at least some friends who approve spousal violence. Likewise, peer approval of spousal violence is positively associated with husband-to-wife violence only for couples that experienced marital conflict. In contrast, there is no significant association between peer approval of spousal violence and husband-to-wife violence for couples that experienced low-levels of marital conflict. / In sum, this thesis reveals the complexity of the causes of husband-to-wife violence that the correlates of husband-to-wife physical assault are interrelated and their associations with husband-to-wife violence are not independent of each other. This work calls for a comprehensive intervention and prevention package that requires efforts from multiple agencies operating at different levels. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Cheung, Ka Lok. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-97). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; appendix includes Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.ix / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- Background of the Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2. --- Research Objectives --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3. --- Methodological Approach --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3.1. --- Data Source --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3.2. --- Measures of the Dependent Variable (The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale) --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4. --- Organizational Structure of the Thesis --- p.10 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Husband’s Resources, Power Motive and Husband-To-Wife Physical Assault: A Mediational Analysis of Resources Theories in a Chinese Society --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1. --- Introduction --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2. --- Past Literature and the Current Study --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.1. --- Resource Theories and Domestic Violence: The Role of Power Motive --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Resources and Domestic Violence: Other Possible Explanations --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2.3. --- Hong Kong as a Chinese Society --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3. --- Methods --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.1. --- Measures of Independent Variables --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.2. --- Analytic Strategy --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4. --- Results --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.1. --- Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Associations --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.2. --- Results from Logistic and OLS Regression Models --- p.28 / Chapter 2.4.3. --- Products of Coefficients and Significant Level for Indirect Effects --- p.29 / Chapter 2.5. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.31 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Traditional Husband With Non-Traditional Wife: Couple’s Gender Role Attitudes and Husband-to-Wife Physical Assault --- p.35 / Chapter 3.1. --- Introduction --- p.35 / Chapter 3.2. --- Past Literature and the Current Study --- p.36 / Chapter 3.2.1. --- Couple’s Gender Role Attitudes and Husband-to-Wife Physical Assault --- p.36 / Chapter 3.2.2. --- Hypotheses of the Current Study --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.3. --- Context for the Current Study: Hong Kong --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3. --- Methods --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.1. --- Measures of the Independent Variables --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.2. --- Analytic Strategy --- p.44 / Chapter 3.4. --- Results --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4.1. --- Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Associations --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4.2. --- Results from Logistic Regression Models --- p.46 / Chapter 3.4.3. --- Interpreting the Interaction Effect --- p.49 / Chapter 3.5. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.51 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Marital Conflict, Peer Approval of Spousal Violence and Husband-to-Wife Physical Assault: Testing an Interaction Effect Hypothesis --- p.55 / Chapter 4.1. --- Introduction --- p.55 / Chapter 4.2. --- Past Literature and the Current Study --- p.57 / Chapter 4.2.1. --- Marital Conflict and Husband-to-Wife Physical Assault --- p.57 / Chapter 4.2.2. --- Peer Approval of Spousal Violence and Husband-to-Wife Physical Assault --- p.58 / Chapter 4.2.3. --- Towards an Interactive Effect Hypothesis --- p.61 / Chapter 4.3. --- Methods --- p.61 / Chapter 4.3.1. --- Measures of the Independent Variables --- p.61 / Chapter 4.3.2. --- Analytic Strategy --- p.63 / Chapter 4.4. --- Results --- p.63 / Chapter 4.4.1. --- Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Associations --- p.63 / Chapter 4.4.2. --- Results from Logistic Regression Model --- p.65 / Chapter 4.4.3. --- Interpreting the Interaction Effect --- p.66 / Chapter 4.5. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.68 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.72 / Chapter 5.1. --- Summary of Findings --- p.72 / Chapter 5.2. --- Limitations of the Current Study and Suggestions for Future Research --- p.74 / Chapter Appendix A --- Results of Additional Analysis for Husband-to-Wife Psychological Aggression and Sexual Coercion --- p.78 / Chapter Appendix B --- Original questions for the multiple-item scales (in Chinese) --- p.84 / Bibliography --- p.86