"The result is somewhat surprising," said Zhao Shuhua, an official with the Beijing Municipal Women's Federation.

"We used to think of women victims of domestic violence as people who were dependent and unable to steer their own lives. But the cruel truth is that neither increased knowledge nor enhanced economic status can protect women from domestic violence."

A survey conducted in the Chinese capital in September by the federation and the Beijing Municipal Academy of Social Sciences found that 77 percent of the women victims of domestic violence in the city were "well-educated career women."

A similar situation was found in North China's Tianjin Municipality. According to a survey conducted by the women's federation in the city, 70 percent of the women victims of domestic violence are "well-educated and in good jobs."

Yuan Xin, a researcher with the Tianjin-based Nankai University, said it is "natural" in some sense that career women are more likely to suffer from domestic violence in big cities in China.

The fast development of Chinese society has thrown more and more women into the bustling career world, but not many husbands and wives have adapted well to their new roles. Before the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Chinese women mostly stayed at home to take care of their families.

Therefore, said Yuan, not many people have truly learnt to treat each other correctly due to the heavy work pressure felt by both sides.

As a consequence, couples bring work pressures back home with them and any added friction can lead to domestic violence.

However, in these families of well-educated couples, the most common form of domestic violence is not physical abuse, as is found in the vast rural areas, but mental abuse, such as angry words and deliberate long-term negligence.

"The popularity of this 'cold violence' might stem from the belief of these well-educated couples that physical violence is contemptible. But the harm caused by words is by no means minor," said Yuan.

Zhao echoed Yuan's observation, saying mental abuse can be just as harsh as physical violence. "But not many victims recognize the former as a form of domestic violence as well. While more and more women will stand up against physical harm, many of them tend to tolerate the latter as a natural component of married life until it becomes unbearable some day," said Zhao.

The recognition of mental abuse as a problem has also encouraged some male victims of domestic violence to come forward.

"Although women are not comparable to men in physical strength in most cases, they are no weaker with words," said Min Zipin, an official with the Hubei Province Women's Federation.

(China Daily December 3, 2002)