Women face divorce court defeat

Women are still at a disadvantage in divorce cases because of a failure to provide sufficient evidence, according to a court in Beijing, although lawyers have said the amount of testimony courts require is often much too high.

Statistics from Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court show that since 2012, it has tried 595 divorce cases, and in these cases a majority of the wives were in a disadvantaged position because they did not know how to provide credible evidence of their husband's infidelity or of domestic violence.

Extramarital affairs and domestic abuse are the two main reasons for women to seek a divorce, a press release from the court said Wednesday.

"In one case, the wife caught her husband having an affair, but this made her so emotional that she forgot to keep any evidence or records. Although she provided voice messages and online chat text messages between her husband and his mistress, they were regarded as low credibility evidence by the court. The court believes women's rights should be defended, but this evidence was not enough," the press release said.

According to Chinese marriage law, in a divorce case which comes before a court, the plaintiff can ask for extra compensation in cases where a husband cheated on a wife or domestic abuse was involved.

In the case of a no-fault divorce, which the couple has agreed to, the couple will negotiate themselves over the joint assets, and can apply to divorce at the same local civil affairs bureau where they married.

Wang Zhengzhong, a Beijing-based lawyer who specializes in divorce cases, told the Global Times that whenever he has represented a female plaintiff in a divorce case, he has found that she could have been awarded a better settlement, if it were not so hard to provide evidence the court would accept of the husband's wrongdoing.

"Suing husbands who have affairs is usually a very difficult job, as to prove these men were having improper relationships with other women needs a complete chain of evidence containing a range of proof rather than single, separate evidence," said Wang.

"Even if a wife informs police beforehand and catches her husband in a hotel with another woman, that's not enough for the court. Other testimony of infidelity over a long period, including photos or hotel records, should also be provided, or the court can't rule in the wife's favor," said Wang.

Domestic violence is another major reason for divorce cases, which the court described in the press release as very common, especially in rural areas. The main difficulty in these divorce cases is that abuse usually happens in private spaces like the home, where there are not usually any witnesses.

"Also, most wives did not keep their medical records after they were beaten or they did not inform the police. On these occasions, medical and police records are very important," the court said.

LüXiaoquan, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongze Women Legal Consultant & Service Center, China's first women's legal aid NGO, told the Global Times that over 18 years, his center has handled more than 300 domestic violence cases in which wives were the victims.

For most of these cases, the court granted a divorce on the grounds of "alienation of mutual affection." Fewer than 10 women were granted a divorce on the grounds of being a victim of abuse, due to a shortage of evidence.

But according to Lü, even if there is a slight chance wives can provide evidence, they should try to collect it.

"If there are teens in the family and they witnessed the domestic violence, their words can be taken as testimony on certain occasions," he said.

"Also, women should report abuse to the police and the Women's Federation immediately, and keep medical and police reports. If possible, take a photo of the injuries; these things are all helpful in court," said Lü.