When Lisa Zhang (pseudonym) tied the knot with her husband in November 2011, both agreed it was a match made in heaven. But their matrimonial bliss quickly spiraled into violence, when Zhang's 31-year-old computer programmer husband began beating her the following month. 

It came as a shock to Zhang that the same man who lovingly gave her foot massages when they had dated could leave her face swollen and bruised in marriage.

Zhang, a 28-year-old smartphone app developer, said her first instinct was to remove herself from the situation. But when it was clear this wasn't an option, she panicked.

"We were in an argument and he hurled insults at me. I wanted to calm myself and started walking out, but he wouldn't let me," Zhang recalled. "I clutched tightly to the door knob while he hit me on the head and around my face. Then, he dragged me into a room and locked me in. He took away my cellphone, so I couldn't call the police."

Zhang logged online using a computer and sought help from a friend, who subsequently called police. However, when police arrived at the couple's Chaoyang district home, they didn't offer Zhang the help she wanted.

"The police came and said this was a family dispute. It was obvious they thought it was a small problem," she said. "I called the police six times in total, but their response was to always tell me to hide if I couldn't take the beatings."

Dejected but not defeated, Zhang turned to feminist groups and lawyers for help. Currently, she is collecting evidence of her abuse to help her case when she files for divorce and applies for a court-issued restraining order.

Lack of legal protection

Domestic violence was thrust into the public spotlight earlier this month when the high-profile divorce suit between Crazy English founder Li Yang and his American ex-wife Kim Lee came to a bitter end. A Chaoyang District People's Court judge awarded Lee 12 million yuan ($1.9 million) worth of Li's assets, along with custody of the couple's three daughters.

But for many women who suffer domestic violence in China, help available to them is limited. One major cause of this is the absence of any law against domestic violence.

For many years, grass-roots organizations and women's rights lawyers in the country have been pushing for legislation outlawing domestic violence.

Lawmakers considered introducing a separate law against domestic violence in October 2011, according to a report to the Committee for Internal and Judicial Affairs of the National People's Congress, although no law was passed.

Instead, women in abusive relationships must rely on themselves and NGOs to fill the void left by the law.

Police reluctance to intervene

Xia Wenyu, a 35-year-old Shanghai native, suffered an experience similar to Zhang's. She married in 2006, although was forced to contend with a mother-in-law who opposed the marriage from the start. Tension escalated and, soon enough, violence erupted between Xia and her husband.

"He beat me many times, sometimes scratching my face and other times hitting my head and arms. For a while, both of my arms were badly bruised," she said.

Seeking help was also difficult for Xia. She called the police, who came and dismissed the incident as a family dispute, advising Xia to sue her husband in a civil court.

In March 2011, Xia's mother-in-law moved into the couple's apartment in Shanghai and pressured them to divorce. Before long, Xia's belongings were kicked to the curb.

"I stood outside my own home with suitcases and called the police. When the police arrived and saw my husband and mother-in-law shouting insults at me, an officer told me: 'They stay inside, you stay outside. Problem solved.' I had to move into a hotel," she recalled.

Xia sought help from the All-China Women's Federation and neighborhood committees, but was met with dead-ends.

She even consulted court prosecutors, but was still left puzzled how she could ensure her rights.

"Many women who suffer domestic violence are in rural areas and have minimal education, but that doesn't apply to me," Xia said. "Why is it that I, as a woman with a master's degree, can't have justice in Shanghai?"

Zhang pinpointed reluctance among police, possibly due to their lack of awareness about how to handle domestic violence cases, as another key reason why many abused women are left helpless.

Xia took matters into her own hands by studying up on Chinese law, and learned police have a responsibility to interfere in such matters. An administrative police branch is tasked with probing such cases, Xia claimed.

"If there was a law against domestic violence, the situation would be entirely different," said Guo Jianmei, co-founder and director of the Women's Legal Research and Service Center and the Beijing Qianqian Law Firm.

"Violence could be controlled, and there would be greater awareness [among men] that beating women is wrong."

Guo noted although there isn't a domestic violence law in China, an encouraging level of awareness about it has been raised over recent years.

"Currently, the media is conscious about reporting cases of domestic violence. Many women have defended themselves and sued their husbands for domestic violence," she said.

The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee amended the Marriage Law in 2001 to explicitly include the prohibition of domestic violence in article three.

Even though the Marriage Law prohibits domestic violence, it doesn't specify punishment for offenders.

Fighting back from abuse

Li Yang's divorce suit highlighted the lack of legal protection in China for domestic violence victims, said Feng Yuan, co-founder of the Anti-Domestic Violence Network, an NGO established by a group of experts, scholars and women's rights activists.

"It took Kim [Lee] over one year to finalize her divorce. During that year, she suffered so much. Li kept threatening her so she went to the police for protection, but they weren't able to warn Li," she said.

Feng conceded while many cases of domestic violence go unreported, victims who speak out often suffer from a lack of protection or access to help.

"In Western countries and even some developing countries, there is a chain of services dealing with domestic violence," Guo said. "Lawyers, communities, the police, courts, hospitals, psychological centers - all are linked together."

In many countries, victims are granted court-issued restraining orders against their violent spouses in the short-term. In the long-term, they can file for divorce and financial compensation, and are often given preference for custody of children.

However, this is rarely the case in China, Guo said.

Guo said even if the law doesn't provide sufficient protection for abused women, they can still protect themselves. She advises victims to save evidence of abuse and find witnesses who can testify before a court.

Guo said draft laws on domestic violence will be submitted during the country's top political sessions - the annual meetings of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, slated to open on March 5 and 3 respectively - in the hope legislation will be passed.