SHENZHEN’S legislature is planning to make a law against domestic violence.

    The city’s legislature gathered 160 people at a seminar Sunday, including officials, scholars and social workers who campaign against domestic violence. The attendees were divided on several issues concerning the law.

    A department director of the Women’s Federation of Guangdong, Yang Shiqiang, opposed defining emotional abuse as domestic violence in the law.

    “It will be extremely hard to distinguish and deal with emotional abuse cases,” said Yang.

    Other controversial issues include whether the law would be applied to domestic violence occurring in nonmarital relationships.

    Domestic violence is common in the city, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday, citing a survey conducted by the Women’s Federation of Shenzhen.

    The survey says most victims of domestic violence are female. Domestic violence mainly occurs in migrant families.

    Thirty-four serious domestic violence cases were reported between 2012 and 2013, including one in which a mother beat and burned her 8-year-old daughter to death.

    In addition, perpetrators were mainly people aged between 28 and 50. Over 95 percent of the city’s domestic violence happened between couples.

    (Martin Li and Huang Luyao)