The concept of domestic violence
What is domestic violence?- Domestic violence refers to acts between family members that entail physical, emotional, or financial injury (Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence).
Who is a family member?- A family member is any of the following (Subparagraph 2 Article 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence):
1. A spouse (including persons in a de facto marital relationship) or former spouse;
2. A current or former lineal ascendant or descendant to oneself or one’s spouse (including those in a de facto adoptive relationship);
3. A person currently or formerly in a relationship of step-parents and offspring or in a relationship between a father's legal wife and the child of a mistress; or
4. A cohabiting relative.
What is criminal domestic violence?- Criminal domestic violence is any of the following (Subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence).
1. The crimes of Articles 257 (Infliction of Bodily Injury; Infliction of Bodily Injury on a Lineal Ascendant), 258 (Aggravated Bodily Injury; Aggravated Bodily Injury on a Lineal Ascendant), 258-2 (Special Bodily Injury), 260 (Violence; Violence against a Lineal Ascendant) (1) and (2), 261 (Special Violence), and 264 (Habitual Crimes) of the Criminal Act;
2. The crimes of Articles 271 (Abandonment; Abandonment of Ascendant) (1) and (2), 272 (Abandoning a Baby), 273 (Cruelty; Cruelty to an Ascendant), and 274 (Hard Labor by Child) of the Criminal Act;
3. The crimes of Articles 276 (False Arrest, Illegal Confinement; False Arrest, Illegal Confinement of an Ascendant), 277 (Aggravated False Arrest, Aggravated Illegal Confinement, Aggravated False Arrest, Aggravated Illegal Confinement of an Ascendant), 278 (Special False Arrest or Illegal Confinement), 279 [Habitual crimes (only for the crimes of Articles 276 and 277)], and 280 [Attempts (only for the crimes of Articles 276 through 279)] of the Criminal Act;
4. The crimes of Articles 283 (Intimidation, Intimidation of an Ascendant) (1) and (2), 284 (Special Intimidation), 285 [Habitual Crime (only for the crime of Article 283)], and 286 (Attempts) of the Criminal Act;
5. The crimes of Articles 297 (Rape), 297-2 (Imitative Rape), 298 (Indecent Act by Compulsion), 299 (Quasi-Rape, Quasi-Indecent Act by Compulsion), 300 (Attempts), 301 (Inflicting or Causing Another's Bodily Injury by Rape), 301-2 (Killing Another or Causing Death of Another by Rape), 302 (Sexual Intercourse with a Minor), 305 (Sexual Intercourse or Indecent Acts with a Minor), 305-2 [Habitual Offenders (only for the crimes of Articles 297, 297-2, and 298 to 300)], and 305-3 (Preparation and Conspiracy) of the Criminal Act;
6. The crimes of Articles 307 (Defamation), 308 [Defamation of Dead Person], 309 (Defamation through Printed Materials), and 311 (Insult) of the Criminal Act;
7. The crimes of intrusion upon a human habitation in Part II, Chapter XXXVI of the Criminal Act;
8. The crimes of Articles 324 (Coercion) and 324-5 [Attempts (only for the crime of Article 324)] of the Criminal Act;
9. The crimes of 350 (Extortion), 350-2 (Special Extortion), and 352 (Attempts) (only for the crimes of Articles 350 and 350-2) of the Criminal Act;
10. The crimes of Articles 366 (Destruction and Damage of Property, Etc.) and 369 (Special Destruction and Damage) (1) of the Criminal Act;
11. The crimes of Article 14 (Taking Photographs or Videos by Using Cameras) and 15 (Attempts) (only for the crime of Article 14) of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes;
12. The crime of Article 74(1)3 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection Act; and
13. Crimes in 1 through 12, above that are subject to aggravated penalties under other statutes (for instance, the Punishment of Violences Act, etc.).
- The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence prevails on criminal domestic violence; provided that the Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes prevails on criminal child abuse (Article 3 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence).
※ Details on domestic violence are found in For Victims of Domestic Violence of this website.