New Nationwide Hotline for Protection of Women's Rights Opens in Shanghai

A new hotline for the protection of women's rights opened in Shanghai on June 15. The new line merges two preexisting local Shanghai hotlines for counseling on legal issues and domestic violence and will now offer legal, psychological, and social assistance and advice for callers from across China. The line will be staffed by members of the Human Rights Network of the Shanghai Women's Federation. Counselors include lawyers, psychologists, and sociologists, as well as a few senior police officials and judges. Another recent women's self-help effort is Women's Watch - China, which was started in Beijing in April 2005 to coordinate the work of women activists across several fields.