Chinese court orders husband to pay ex-wife $ 7,700 for domestic work in divorce case

Chinese court orders husband to pay ex-wife $ 7,700 for domestic work in divorce case

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Wang, a homemaker, sued her husband for $ 24,700 after filing for divorce in Beijing District Court in October. Wang said she had to look after the couple’s child and homework alone, as her husband “barely cared or participated in any kind of household chores,” state-run China National Radio (CNR) reported.

In its ruling, the court ordered the man to pay Wang about $ 7,700 as ‘household compensation’, after dividing their common property equally. According to CNR, Wang was also supervising their son and paid $ 300 a month.

The ruling is the first of its kind under China’s new civil code, a far-reaching legislative package that, according to the Chinese government and legal experts, will better protect the rights of individuals. This has been the case since January, and it contains a clause that allows a partner to claim compensation from their partner during their divorce because he or she takes more responsibility for caring for children and elderly family members.

The ruling, first reported by local media in early February, became a hot topic this week on Weibo, China’s Chinese service, following the creation of a hashtag to draw attention to the court’s ruling. The hashtag has been viewed more than 500 million times since Wednesday. Some comments applauded the ruling in recognition of the hard, unpaid labor at home, but others said the amount allocated was too little to cover five years of homework and childcare.

Unequal gender roles in domestic life have been a topic of public debate in China over the past few years amid a rising feminist movement. Despite the increasing levels of education and the growing economic status of women, gender norms and patriarchal traditions have not achieved these changes, and women are still expected to perform most of the childcare and domestic work after marriage.

China’s Separation Laws

Home cost compensation is designed to provide additional protection to spouses who have undertaken more household chores – and, according to legal experts, have offered opportunities to advance their careers or education.

“For the spouse who works outside, they can still enjoy the resources, commitments and status they had after the divorce – and still earn the same income. But for the spouse who has quietly made an effort at home, they will have the problem. to return (work), “Long Jun, an associate professor of law at Tsinghua University, told state broadcaster CCTV.

“This means that the homemaker has to pay a hidden cost in addition to the efforts they paid during the marriage,” Long said.

The right to claim domestic compensation in divorce proceedings is not a new concept in Chinese law. In 2001, household compensation was added to a revision of the marriage law in China, provided that it applies only to couples who have agreed on the separation of property, in which each spouse retains ownership of the property acquired during the marriage. .

In reality, however, legal experts say that few Chinese couples have reached formal agreement to keep their property separate, and so it is rare for divorced couples to be eligible for domestic compensation by the court.

“According to our survey, only 3% to 5% of couples in our country implement the separation of property,” Xia Yinlan, a professor of marriage law at the Chinese University of Political Science and Law, told CCTV. Therefore, the condition was deleted in China’s new civil legislation, Xia said.

Falling marriage, increasing divorce

On Weibo, many users expressed disappointment that Wang was only awarded $ 7,700 after spending five years of her life caring for her family, especially in the Chinese capital – where the cost of living and income levels are highest in the country. .

“I am a bit speechless. I feel that the work of a full-time housewife is underestimated. In Beijing, hiring a babysitter will cost more than 50,000 yuan a year,” reads a comment below CNR’s report.
Chinese millennials do not marry, and the government is worried

‘That’s why young people are not ready to get married and have children. The cost is too high, ‘said another.

The marriage rate in China has been falling since 2013. And in just six years, the number of Chinese people marrying for the first time has dropped by 41%, according to data released by the Chinese Bureau of Statistics.

Divorce rates have risen nearly five times in the past three decades. According to government statistics, there were 0.69 divorces per thousand people in 1990. By 2019, the latest figures available, the number stood at 3.36.

Feng Miao, the judge who presided over the Beijing court case, told CNR that the amount of compensation in this ruling is determined on the basis of factors including the man’s income levels and the cost of living in the Chinese capital.

Now that the new civil law is in effect, the judge said she expects more cases claiming compensation for domestic compensation will be filed. “But in practice we still have to gain experience to measure the amount of compensation,” she said.

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