On the morning of July 16, the Xuhui District People's Court of Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the "Xuhui District People's Court") held a press conference to release the White Paper on the Adjudication of Personal Safety Protection Order Cases from March 2016 to April 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") and to brief the public on the adjudication work of personal safety protection order cases handled by the Court.

At the conference, Yin Xuexin, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Xuhui District People's Court, together with responsible officials from the Civil Division, reported on relevant matters and answered questions from the media. The press conference was presided over by Xie Meng, Member of the Party Leadership Group, Director of the Political Department, and Spokesperson of the Xuhui District People's Court. Representatives from multiple media organizations, including Legal Daily, China Youth Daily, The Democracy and Law Times, and Jiefang Daily, attended the event.

According to the briefing, from March 2016 to April 2025, the Xuhui District People's Court accepted a total of 69 personal safety protection order cases. Since 2023, there has been a marked upward trend in the number of personal safety protection order cases. These cases are characterized by diversified interpersonal relationships, varied forms of violence, clarified evidentiary standards for adjudication, and a relatively high rate of order issuance.

The Xuhui District People's Court is committed to advancing anti-domestic violence efforts in depth and has established multiple working mechanisms and gained practical experience in the adjudication of personal safety protection order cases: The first is multi-party collaboration to establish a comprehensive cooperation mechanism. The second is a focus on practical results to ensure efficient connection and progress of case review. The third is substantive dispute resolution to facilitate the repair of family relationships. The fourth is strengthened enforcement to ensure the effective realization of judicial protection.

It is noteworthy that, in response to challenges encountered in the adjudication of cases, such as insufficient impetus to initiate proceedings, lack of mechanisms for evidence preservation, and weak oversight in the enforcement stage, the Xuhui District People's Court has proposed recommendations for improving the implementation mechanism of personal safety protection orders at the pre-litigation, litigation, and post-litigation stages. At the pre-litigation stage, efforts should be continuously made to advance grassroots legal education, enhance awareness of rights protection against domestic violence, fully leverage the role of relevant authorities in submitting applications on behalf of victims, and emphasize the intervention of public authorities in evidence preservation. At the litigation stage, the standard of proof of "greater likelihood" should be accurately applied, and the principle of aligning the scope of protection with the degree of risk should be uphold. At the post-litigation stage, enforcement of injunctions requiring the respondent to take certain actions should be reinforced, supervision over injunctions prohibiting certain actions should be improved, and mechanisms for post-litigation education and corrective measures should be explored.

On this occasion, the Xuhui District People's Court selected five typical cases for inclusion in the White Paper, focusing on expanding the range of eligible applicants, clarifying the scope of protection, strengthening educational guidance, and ensuring enforcement through compulsory measures. The cases include: a father prohibited from beating his child "in the name of love"; a prohibition on persistent harassment after a breakup; resolving disputes involving the abduction and concealment of minor children in personal safety protection order cases; partial rejection of an application for a personal safety protection order where the requested protection exceeded the actual harm and risk involved; and imposing sanctions for violations of a personal safety protection order. These cases are representative in terms of their types and exemplary in terms of their adjudicative effects. They highlight the educational, exemplary, guiding, and evaluative functions of judicial decisions, providing valuable guidance for further improving the working mechanisms and adjudication approaches for personal safety protection order cases, as well as for effectively curbing domestic violence.

It is reported that the release of this White Paper is also one of the concrete achievements of the "Professor Cao Xianfeng Workstation of Xuhui District People's Court of Shanghai". During the drafting process of the White Paper, full consultation was conducted with Professor Cao Xianfeng, Professor at the School of Law of Jilin University and PhD supervisor. Professor Cao Xianfeng stated that, through systems such as personal safety protection orders, injunctions against infringement of personality rights, and absolute rights claims, the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China has established a relatively rigorous institutional framework for preemptive prevention and interim control. Judicial authorities, by combining the above systems with post-event remedies such as compensation for damages, have effectively combated domestic violence and fully implemented the people-oriented philosophy of legislation and justice.