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Updated September 18th, 2020 at 14:42 IST

Forced to share horrific domestic abuse clip, woman finally convinces China divorce court

A Chinese woman who was subjected to domestic abuse sought a divorce but the court denied her request as her husband did not agree with the separation

Reported by: Gloria Methri
Chinese
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A woman in China who was subjected to domestic abuse and violence from her husband sought a divorce from the local court but her request was denied since her partner did not agree to the separation and his mediation was required in the case.

In June 2019, Liu Zengyan (24) filed for divorce in the Zhecheng County court in Henan Province, presenting a video where she is seen being thrashed by her husband, Dou, outside her boutique in broad daylight.

The footage which recently circulated online, showed Dou hauling her into another room, and minutes later, the woman jumped off the window from the second floor, onto the street below in the central Chinese city of Shangqiu. Liu said later it was the only way she could escape the torture.

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She suffered fractures in her waist, chest and eye socket and her lower limbs were temporarily paralyzed after the incident. The security cameras captured Dou pushing his wife down, punching her, slapping her and dragging her by the hair across the floor. Narrating her ordeal at the hospital, Liu said her husband had “almost” become a psychopath, as he was beating her to fulfil his desire for violence.

Dou was taken into police custody after the incident. His parents had changed their mobile numbers and there was no way Liu could reach them. Upon approaching the court for an annulment, she was told that she could not get a divorce while the criminal case against her husband was still pending.

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Liu's video gains public attention

In an attempt to pressurise the court, Liu Zengyan uploaded the video of violence against her on WeChat, China’s leading social media platform. The video was shared widely on the internet and thousands of people rallied to her defence. A hashtag about her case was viewed more than a billion times on the microblogging site Weibo, followed by news media interviews.

Shortly after, a judge summoned Liu to say there was no need for mediation and the court would issue a verdict soon. On July 28, three weeks after she released the video, she was granted a divorce.

Liu’s struggle for separation from her abusive husband had set off a nationwide debate about two of the biggest issues faced by women in China: the prevalence of domestic violence and the difficulties of getting justice in a legal system set against them. It was only in recent years that domestic violence was perceived as a significant problem in China, where laws are mostly made and enforced by men, and families are discouraged from airing their difficulties in public. 

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(Image for representation)

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Published September 18th, 2020 at 14:42 IST

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