The Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, has issued 31 personal protection orders as of Monday since China enacted the Anti-Domestic Violence Law on March 1.
"Since the enactment of the law, the court has accepted 55 applications for personal protection orders, of which 31 have been proven and put into force," Zhou Kan, the presiding judge of the court, was quoted as saying by chinanews.com on Monday.
Of the 31 personal protection orders, 20 were requested by wives and seven by parents, chinanews.com reported.
Personal protection orders were first introduced in March when the Anti-Domestic Violence Law was put into force.
The law says that anyone who suffers from or faces the threat of domestic violence can apply for a personal protection order at a local court. The court must issue the order or reject the application within 72 hours if the case is verified.
Once the order is granted, a court may prohibit the abuser from harassing, stalking or contacting the applicant and his or her close relatives, order the abuser to move out of the home, or adopt various other measures to protect the applicant, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Nanjing issued its first personal protection order on March 31, when a victim surnamed Yao was put under the protection of the court due to the abuse and threats of her mother-in-law surnamed Guo.
Guo was ordered to abide by the order otherwise she would be fined 1,000 yuan ($146) and be held in custody for a maximum of 15 days.
