Chinanews.com, February 25th. According to "Europe Times" WeChat public account "Xiwen" news, in Spain, parents hit children, serious circumstances can constitute domestic violence. Defendants may even go to court and be punished by law. Chinese lawyer Ji Yihong reminded Chinese in West China that they should be aware of local laws in order to avoid tragedies.
Lawyer Ji said that in Spain, if domestic violence is not handled properly, both parents are found guilty and may even experience the permanent loss of custody after being sentenced, that is, the tragedy of children being taken away by a Spanish family.
Corporal punishment of children constitutes domestic violence
When it comes to domestic violence, people immediately think of violence caused by conflict between husband and wife. Domestic violence and corporal punishment of parents against their children are generally not thought of. But in Spain, parents beating their children constitute domestic violence. A more common situation is when a child is beaten at home and goes to school. When the teacher noticed a scar on the child, he immediately notified the police. The child's parents became the defendants in the case. As the criminal court opens, parents are sentenced. In such cases of domestic violence, it is common for parents to be sentenced.
Chinese lawyer Ji Yihong said that he would take over one to two such cases every year. The plaintiffs were basically younger children between the ages of 5 and 12. The corporal punishment suffered by these children is not heavy. Most parents use wires or hangers to teach their children. However, after this approach caused injuries, it was filed as a domestic violence case.
In Spain, the courts have a special process designed to help children make statements in court. Under the guidance of a psychologist, the child will tell the facts before being questioned by a lawyer. In such cases, the child will tell a lot of details. Therefore, a child confesses before the court, and once the parents are testified, in most cases the parents will be found guilty.
Leaving children alone at home constitutes custody failure
Recently, the Spanish media reported that a tourist accidentally photographed a balcony on the opposite side of the building. A child was 30 meters high and had no protective measures. After taking the video, the tourists sent the video to the police station. Police said the incident was due to the guardian's negligence.
Ji Yihong said that in the cases he handled, custody failure was also relatively common. For example, there was a case of a 7-year-old child in 2016. The child's parents opened a food store, and the 7-year-old child was playing on the balcony at home. When the neighbor saw it, he called the police immediately. Then the firefighter rushed to the child's home and found that only the child was at home. The case was subsequently brought to court. Of course, there is another misunderstanding in this case that the child had a birthmark on his face, so the court found that the child was abused and the child's parents faced two years in prison. Later, the lawyer stated in defense that both parents opened the shop, and the mother brought the meal to the father who visited the shop as soon as the dinner was made. Mother just left for more than 10 minutes and was therefore unintentional. The case occurred in 2016 and eventually succeeded in acquittal in 2019. Although the child's parents were not punished, in the three years they were still quite scared.
Ji Yihong said that according to Spanish criminal law, the definition of guardianship misconduct is very broad. Chinese in West China should pay special attention. For example: not having a clean residence, not providing children with food, it is a custody misconduct; during the compulsory education, not sending the child to study, threatening the child, abandoning the child, forcing the child to work, being a custody misconduct, or even a criminal offence. If the child does not wear a seat belt in the car and does not have a safety seat, it is also a custody failure.
Domestic violence and custody failure can have serious consequences
Custody failure In more serious cases, the court will deprive parents of custody. If one of them fails to supervise, that person is deprived of custody and the other can continue to raise the child. If both sides fail to supervise, the court will deprive both parents of custody.
Domestic violence may impose a term of imprisonment on the parents. Less severe cases include imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, or public welfare work. The other sentence is 5 years in prison. If a child is fractured, it constitutes serious injury and domestic violence. The two crimes are superimposed, and the parent's term of imprisonment is relatively long.
In addition, domestic violence and custody deprivation can deprive them of access to children. The duration of the prohibition order generally ranges from 1 year and 1 day to 4 years.
Ji Yihong reminded that when the ban on access was ordered, the man was sentenced to ban on approaching the woman. Then if the man called the woman and the woman answered, she violated the "prohibition of access order" and would commit "contempt of court". Even if the phone rang only once, it constituted harassment and violated the "prohibition order". In other words, a missed call is equivalent to contempt of court. The same applies to the prohibition of access. If the court rules that the parent is prohibited from approaching the child, the parent may not call the child. If you approach the child during the prohibition order, you are contempt of court, violate the law, and again constitute an offence.
Ji Yihong said that in the case he dealt with, there were cases of domestic violence between the parents and the parents, and both parties were deprived of custody. If such an extreme case occurs, most of the result is that the child is sent to a minor housing center where the autonomous region is located. If the child is young, the Juvenile Home will contact a Spanish family and give them foster care. If the child is handed over to a Spanish family, it will be difficult to return in the future. In some cases, it is possible to apply to the defendant's siblings to take care of the child. This is a better approach because the custody of the child still belongs to the family and will not be taken away by outsiders. Of course, in this case, the guardians of the family must live in Spain and have certain income conditions in Spain.
In the end, Mr. Ji Yihong reminded the Chinese in West China that most Chinese have a residence status in Spain, but domestic violence may cause the residence to be abolished. Even if you hold a permanent residence, once you are sentenced to more than one year in prison, the permanent residence will be abolished. Therefore, for the Chinese in West China, not only criminal liability, but also incidental responsibility, that is, the residence will be abolished.