Domestic Violence Protection Orders in China

A protection order is an urgent court restraint — it is not the divorce and not a criminal case by itself.

The Anti-Domestic Violence Law lets a people’s court issue a personal safety protection order (restraining contact, staying away, temporary housing, and similar). Applicants can include the victim and, in some cases, close relatives or authorities. Evidence can be police records, medical notes, photos, messages — not only a final criminal conviction. Orders can be made quickly; breach has consequences. Many city and foreign-spouse DV articles already exist — link them;. Divorce, custody and criminal complaint remain separate paths.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

Is there an immediate safety need?

Order vs police 110 vs shelter.

Urgency

What evidence exists today?

Police, medical, messages.

Proof

Which court?

Usually where the applicant or respondent is.

Court

Is divorce or custody also needed?

Parallel, not instead.

Parallel

Working rule: The Anti-Domestic Violence Law lets a people’s court issue a personal safety protection order (restraining contact, staying away, temporary housing, and similar).

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal

Ask the operating question

Why it changes the route

Wait for a perfect file

Delaying until a criminal verdict.

Orders can run earlier.

Broader Divorce & Family analysis needed

Rewriting a foreign-spouse DV longread.

Additional facts can change the Divorce & Family route, evidence and next step.

Using the child as messenger

Contact through school after an order.

May be a breach.

Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Incident fileDates, 110 records, injuries.

02Identity and addressWho must be kept away.

03Any existing divorce case numberSo the court can coordinate.

Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Do foreigners qualify?

Yes in principle if a PRC court has the person/facts. Practical barriers are evidence and housing — see foreign-spouse DV guides.

Does an order end the marriage?

No. You still need registration or a divorce judgment.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Civil Code (NPC laws database)

Supreme People’s Court

Gov.cn

National laws database (NPC)