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Practicing cupping using plastic cups with a valve and a manual pump for suction. Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash

Cases: minors with bruises and various swellings on the body; minors medically treated only with traditional medicine and not with Western medicine (criminal and family law).

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Cultural test

Legal Insights

Anthropological insights

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Proposed balancing act: A correct hermeneutics of the fact (e.g. ascertaining that the bruises are a consequence of traditional medicine) leads to the conclusion that the objective element of the offences of beating, injury or abuse does not exist and to the consequent acquittal of the accused or, if in a family law case, to a judgement of appropriateness of the parent. When Gua sha and cupping are expertly performed, they do not cause any harm to the health of minors or adults, and those who perform and receive them are within the exercise of their cultural rights.

Bibliographic references

​Legal biography
 
Berger, L. (1994). Learning to Tell Custom from Abuse: Child Welfare Officials Are Working with Immigrant Parents to Clear up Cultural Misperceptions that May Lead to False Reports of Trouble. L.A. Times, Aug. 24, 1994. Link
Cavallari C., Ruggiu I., (2023) Antropologia e diritto di fronte alla salute del minore: un approccio integrato. BioLaw Journal-Rivista di Biodiritto, fasc. 4, pp. 29-44
 
Chin, William Y. (2005). Blue Spots, Coining, and Cupping: How Ethnic Minority Parents Can Be Misreported as Child Abusers. Journal of Law and Society, 7, 88.
Corwin, M. (2000). Cultural Sensitivity on the Beat. L.A. Times, Jan. 10, 2000. Link
Gentry, W. Yeatman, & Viet Van Dang (1980). Cai Gio (Coin Rubbing): Vietnamese Attitudes Toward Health Care. JAMA, 244, 2748.
In re Jertrude O., 466 A.2d 885, 888, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, 1983.
Morton, J. (2002). Second Coining Case Is Dropped and Asian Dad Hopes Case Helps Others. Omaha World-Herald, May 14, 2002.
Nong The Anh (1976). "Pseudo-battered child" Syndrome. JAMA, 236, 2288.
Renteln, A. D. (2010). Corporal Punishment and the Cultural Defense. Law and Contemporary Problems, 73, 253-279.
 
Ruth E. Davis (2000). Cultural Health Care or Child Abuse? The Southeast Asian Practice of Cao Gio. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 12, 89-90.
 
Anthropological bibliography (recommended reading):
 
Leung L. (2010). Traditional Chinese Medicine – a beginner’s guide, Royal College of General Practitioners.
 
A fundamental text for understanding the general approach to health in Chinese medicine and East Asian medicine more generally.
 
Nielsen A., Kliegler B., Koll B.S. (2012). Safety protocols for Gua Sha (press-stroking) and Baguan (cupping), Complementary therapies in medicine, 20. 
 
Effective and concise analysis and presentation of the practices of Gua Sha and cupping, useful for understanding their importance within a broader system of healing different from that of the West.
 
 
Anthropological bibliography (for more details):
 
Chirali, I.Z. (2014). Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy. Elsevier Ltd.
Nielsen, A., et al. (2007). "The effect of Gua Sha treatment on the microcirculation of surface tissue: a pilot study in healthy subjects." Explore, 3.
Leung, B. (2007). Traditional Chinese medicine. The human dimension. Verdant House.
Aprile, A., Pomara, C., & Turillazzi, E. (2015). "Gua Sha: a traditional Chinese healing technique that could mimic physical abuse: A potential issue with forensic implications. A case study." Forensic Science International, 249.
WHO (2022). WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

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