'I will not fail'
During the past 10 years, domestic violence has caught wider public attention, thanks to more exposure of cases in the news media and online.
Kim Lee, the American wife of Li Yang, a popular English teacher and founder of the Crazy English franchise, posted photos of her swelling forehead and bruising knees on the Sina Weibo micro-blogging service in August.
Lee accused her husband of beating her in front of one of their children and filed a petition for divorce in October. China Daily tried to contact her by different means but received no reply.
"A man who beats you once will beat you again. I know this now," she wrote in a message posted on Nov 8. "I also know that the thought of being pregnant and alone is frightening enough to keep a woman silent."
In spite of the hardships, she made a firm statement in a letter she wrote to Li Yang and also sent to the Anti-Domestic Violence Network of China Law Society:
"I may fail to bring you to justice, and your fame may protect you from consequences for your reprehensible actions.
"I will not fail... in my mission to help millions of Chinese women gain the legal protection that they deserve. Even if you beat her, it is impossible to defeat the woman who never gives up."
