IN 2006, when she was seven months pregnant, Kim Lee was kicked so hard in the abdomen by her husband that she needed hospital treatment. Such domestic violence, though shocking, is not uncommon in China. Around a quarter of Chinese women have experienced domestic abuse, according to the All China Women's Federation (ACWF), a state-controlled NGO, but experts say the real figure is probably much higher. Concerns about losing family "face" mean many incidents go unreported, and few offenders are ever punished.
2006年，怀孕7个月的吉姆•李（Kim•Lee）被她的丈夫一脚踢中小腹。这一脚太重了，让她不得不去医院治疗。这样的家暴虽说令人震惊，但在中国并不少见。根据政府控制的非政府组织中华全国妇女联合会（全国妇联）（All China Women's Federation (ACWF)）统计，大约四分之一的中国妇女有过遭受家暴的经历；但专家认为实际数字可能远高于此。对"家丑外扬"的顾虑遮掩了许多此类事件，施暴者很少受到惩处。
What makes Ms Lee different is that she is a white American. Her husband is Li Yang, the celebrity founder of Crazy English, a wildly popular English-language training institute, which encourages students to learn English by shouting it at the top of their voices.
李女士是一位美国白人，这让她与一般中国妇女不同。她的丈夫是李阳，他因创办"疯狂英语"[注2]成名；而"疯狂英语"是深受大众喜爱的英语学习集训营，该集训营鼓励学生高声诵读英语以达到学习目的。
The few people Ms Lee confided in, including her Chinese sister-in-law, told her to stop provoking her husband. When she complained to the police, after suffering concussion and bruised ribs, they told her to "relax and go home". Frustrated, she turned to the internet, posting photos on a Chinese microblog last August. One showed a lump the size of a golf ball protruding from her forehead. Another showed a bloody ear. The photos caused a sensation. Hundreds of thousands of comments were published about them on microblogs. Since then, many more victims of domestic violence have come forward, and the issue has been reported and discussed more widely in Chinese media.
李女士信赖的少数几个人（包括她的中国小姑）告诉她别再去惹自己的丈夫。她在遭受脑震荡与肋部瘀伤之后向警方投诉，但警察让她"放松一下，回家吧"。深感沮丧的她转投互联网，去年8月在一家中国微博上贴出了她的照片。其中一幅照片显示了她额头上高尔夫球大小的一个鼓包，另一幅是她流血的耳朵。照片引起了轰动。微博上对此的跟帖评论数以十万计。从那时起许多其他家暴受害者也纷纷站了出来，中国媒体就这一问题进行了更广泛的报道与讨论。
While a 2005 law vaguely states that domestic violence against women is prohibited, there is no national provision for dealing with offenders. This year, the creation of such mechanisms was put on the legislative agenda of China's parliament, the National People's Congress. It marks the fifth time the ACWF has submitted such a proposal. Julie Broussard, China programme manager at UN Women, part of the United Nations, says she is optimistic that it could pass this time.
2005年的一部法律含糊地禁止对妇女的家暴，但没有全国通行的法律条款惩处施暴者。今年的中国议会——全国人大的立法议事议程中包括建立这样的机制。值得注意的是，这是全国妇联第五次提交这一议案。联合国下属组织——联合国妇女中国区经理朱丽叶•布鲁萨德（China programme manager at UN Women Julie Broussard）说，她对本届人大通过这一议案持乐观态度。
After months of waiting, Ms Lee has been granted a civil protection order forbidding her husband to come within 200 metres of her. On August 10th she attended divorce proceedings in Beijing for the third time, after Mr Li refused to co-operate at previous hearings. A group of Chinese women, made up with fake bruises, came to the court with 1,200 signatures expressing support for Ms Lee.
经过几个月的等待之后，法庭为李女士颁布了一项公民保护令，禁止她的丈夫在她周围200米内出现。在李阳在以前的庭审中拒绝合作以后，8月10日李女士在北京第三次出席离婚庭审。一群脸上涂抹成青肿受伤样子的中国妇女来到法庭，她们征集了1200个支持李女士的签名。
Mr Li has apologised for his actions but last week he told Chinese reporters that what is called domestic violence could just be a difference between cultures. Ms Lee has claimed custody of their three young children and decided to remain in China. She knows she can leave if she wants to. Chinese women, she points out, do not have that option.
李阳曾对他的行为表达过歉意，但上周他告诉中国记者，所谓家暴有时只不过是两种文化的差异而已。李女士要求行使对他们的三名幼年孩子的监护权，并决定留在中国。她知道，如果她想离开中国她就可以走。但她指出，中国妇女没有这样的选择