The investigation into the incident of a woman jumping from a building in a domestic violence in Henan Province has encountered the "difficulty of divorce"
CCTV News: Impulsive divorce requires quietness.
The "Civil Code", which will be implemented from next year, has newly established a "30-day cooling-off period" for the divorce agreement between the spouses. In addition, there is also a "mediation" link in the litigation divorce, which is to let people treat the marriage to maintain A prudent attitude.
But when marriage encounters extreme situations such as domestic violence, will the establishment of these clauses become a restriction on divorce?
Recently, a video of a Henan woman jumping off a building due to domestic violence has attracted everyone's attention. While condemning the perpetrator, some people have also asked: Why doesn't the court decide to divorce such a serious domestic violence?
Has this divorce lawsuit encountered the dilemma of "difficult divorce"?
A reporter from Rule of Law went to Shangqiu, Henan Province to investigate the incident.
She was slapped, pushed down, pulled by her hair, dragged. A year ago, Xiaoyan, a woman, was beaten by Dou, who was still her husband at the time, in her clothing store, and finally ended the episode by jumping off the second floor. Domestic violence.
A year later, Xiaoyan will be edited and uploaded to the Internet of the domestic violence video, which quickly detonated public opinion.
In Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province, the reporter found the clothing store and witnesses at the time of the incident.
At 13:38 pm on August 13, 2019, Xiaoyan jumped off the second floor of her own clothing store. Ms. Li from the shop next door was standing outside the store and saw Xiaoyan falling to the ground for the first time.
Ms. Zhang from another shop also heard the sound and saw Xiaoyan lying on the ground.
Ms. Zhang: "I went out when I heard a sound at the door. When I went out, (Xiaoyan) was lying on the ground with blood on the ground. I saw that she was seriously injured. One of them was purple, just fist hits. The feeling of the past, the hair torn is also quite serious."
The video showed that the onlookers began to call Xiaoyan to wipe the blood stains on her face. Only then did Dou push the door from the clothing store.
Reporter: How did her husband behave at that time?
Witness: "I just heard what he said, saying'can't,' which means whether she wants to be able to do it, which means she can do it. Didn't she jump from upstairs, it means she can do it. I was indifferent and didn't feel distressed at all. When I saw this scene, I felt that my heart was cold."
Why would Dou say that Xiaoyan is "smart"?
What happened between the two?
In this transparent clothing store, there are secrets that outsiders can't see through.
The reporter contacted the client, Xiaoyan, who returned to the clothing store where the incident occurred a year later and was interviewed here.
Xiaoyan: "Whether it is his expression, what he said, and the acts of beating me, all make me think that I may really be going to die here, but I don't want to die. That window is the only thing I can do. An exit for escape, so I jumped down from the second floor."
[Review] Said that repeated encounters of domestic violence caused fear for her husband
Why does Xiaoyan treat the window on the second floor as the only "escape exit"?
According to her description, the biggest danger at the time was not jumping off the building, but Dou who was in the clothing store.
Xiaoyan's fear of her husband was not only caused by Dou's violence this time.
Xiaoyan and Dou established a romantic relationship in 2016 and held a wedding ceremony in accordance with local customs in 2017. In the same year, their son was born.
In 2018, the two registered their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau of Zhecheng County.
After marriage, Xiaoyan opened a clothing store with the dowry money given by her parents, covering an area of more than 50 square meters, with a storefront on the first floor and a warehouse and lounge on the second floor.
Currently, the windows on the second floor have been sealed.
Xiaoyan described that she had a balloon in her body. At the beginning, she was full of energy for work and life.
But it didn't take long for her and Dou's marriage life to light up.
Xiaoyan said that she suffered three serious domestic violence after marriage, and the fuse was due to Dou's gambling.
Xiaoyan recalled that one night in April 2018, Dou drank a lot of alcohol. After returning, the two quarreled, and Dou made a hand to Xiaoyan for the first time.
Xiaoyan: "At that time, I was beaten very hard, including saying that I grabbed my hair and threw me to the ground. I rolled three or four meters away. There was also a hard punch on the back of my head with my hand, and Just kick my belly."
Under Dou's heavy punch, Xiaoyan was knocked to the ground.
In April, the weather in Zhecheng was warm and cold, and the icy feeling of her face on the floor tiles made her remember.
This is also the first time in Xiaoyan's life that she has encountered such serious violence. She moved all her belongings back to her natal family and decided to divorce Dou Mou.
But at that time, Xiaoyan did not have the concept of "domestic violence", thinking it was Dou's impulse after drinking.
After more than a month, they reconciled with Dou's repeated assurances.
But not long after the reconciliation, the two once again fell into a vortex of constant quarrels.
The family conflict cannot be resolved, Dou just wants to use violence to shut up Xiaoyan.
Xiaoyan: "I said you don't hit me anymore. You are domestic violence, and then he said, do you know? Every time I hit you, you shut up immediately. I thought this sentence at the time. It’s more lethal to me than he hit me before."
On August 7, 2019, Dou's mother found Dou at the poker table and scolded him on the spot.
Dou felt that his mother knew that he was playing cards because Xiaoyan had filed a lawsuit, and his anger broke out again.
Xiaoyan: "He just called me right in front of the fucking face at the poker court, and said I was damned, and said he was going back to the store to kill me."
[Incident] The husband suddenly broke into the clothing store and began beating his wife
Dou's violent behavior made Xiaoyan realize that he is a violent person who cannot control himself.
So after hanging up the phone that day, Xiaoyan closed the store door and ran back to her mother's house. She didn't dare to go to the store for a few days afterwards. Usually she was accompanied by her family when she went out.
She also planned to apply for a "personal safety protection order", but the most serious injury came so suddenly that she caught her off guard.
During the few days of hiding in her parents' house, Dou did not show up. Xiaoyan heard that he had gone to Zhengzhou, so on August 13, 2019, Xiaoyan returned to the clothing store alone.
At around 1 o'clock that afternoon, Dou suddenly broke into the clothing store and began to beat Xiaoyan.
Because it was not the first time she suffered domestic violence, Xiaoyan didn't have much fear in her heart at the beginning. She referred to Dou's violence as "intended beating."
Xiaoyan: "I was sitting on the sofa. He had already slapped me fiercely. He wanted to slap me again. Then I subconsciously went to hide. He stopped, and at the same time he showed a lot of A proud and very arrogant smile, so I think he hit me just to see the way I was afraid, the way I was afraid of him, which may be a kind of psychological satisfaction for him."
Not only that, Xiaoyan concluded that the three domestic violence had a common feature, which was to take her mobile phone and restrict her mobility.
Xiaoyan: "I had a chance to escape, but because of the pain in the waist and tail vertebrae, I could hardly walk and walk very slowly. I wanted to run because the distance from the door was so Closer than him, much closer than him, but because I couldn't walk at the time, he quickly chased me up, then grabbed my hair and dragged me from the door to the bar."
What really broke through Xiaoyan's psychological defenses and made her start to feel panic and fear was when Dou Mou hit her eye sockets hard.
At that moment, she felt that the balloon in her body had completely exploded.
Xiaoyan's cries alarmed Ms. Li from the shop next door to ask about the situation.
Ms. Li recalled that when he saw Dou's expression as usual, he thought the two had just quarreled and left.
But according to Xiaoyan, Dou changed his face completely when he turned to face her.
Xiaoyan: "He had a fierce expression when he hit me, and when he walked over to talk to the neighbor, his expression became very gentle again. He said it was okay. We opened the door after a while and we went out."
The video shows that Dou drew the curtains and locked the only glass door leading to the outside world in the clothing store, and then dragged Xiaoyan behind the bar.
Uneasy, Ms. Li returned to Xiaoyan's clothing store and looked inside. At this moment, Xiaoyan jumped out of the window on the second floor.
Reporter: When you were jumping, did you see his reaction or did you say something?
Xiaoyan: "At that time, I couldn't tolerate me to talk to him, or I wanted to jump off the building to see his reaction. It was too late. At that time, I thought that I had to get out alive before I jumped down from the second floor. "
[Result] Wife was identified as minor injury first-degree husband suspected of intentional injury
Xiaoyan jumped off the second floor of her own clothing store and was rushed to the hospital. After diagnosis, she had multiple fractures and injuries. After that, she started a long and painful recovery treatment, which also caused her torment. There is also the divorce lawsuit between her and Dou.
Three days after the incident, Xiaoyan accepted the first damage assessment from the police.
According to the first appraisal document made by the Material Evidence Appraisal Office of the Zhecheng County Public Security Bureau, after investigation, Xiaoyan "the injury of her left eye was caused by her husband's beating, and the rest of her injuries were caused by jumping off the building."
The appraisal opinion this time is that Xiaoyan's left eye injury constitutes a minor injury, and pelvic fractures and vertebral fractures constitute a minor injury. Xiaoyan raised objections to this appraisal opinion.
In November 2019, according to the notice of identification issued by the Zhecheng County Public Security Bureau, it was determined that Xiaoyan's left eye fracture injury constituted a minor injury.
Dou was filed for investigation on suspicion of intentional injury.
According to the announcement issued by the People's Court of Zhecheng County: During the investigation stage of the case, the public security organs pursued him online because Dou refused to take the case.
On March 25, 2020, Dou went to the public security organs to surrender him and filed a non-custodial lawsuit against him due to the epidemic; on June 15, 2020, the Zhecheng County People’s Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Dou, demanding that he be investigated for the crime of intentional injury Responsibility; On July 21, 2020, the People's Court of Zhecheng County decided to arrest Dou Mou and he is currently detained in the Zhecheng County Detention Center.
In addition to the criminal case, the divorce case between Xiaoyan and Dou has also attracted much attention.
In August last year, Xiaoyan suffered a very serious domestic violence, and then she firmly stated that she must divorce.
Then why did she get the divorce verdict only in July of this year? Was the divorce lawsuit going well? Was there any long-term adjustment without judgment in the trial of this case?
Wang Guofu, the head of the first civil trial division of the People's Court of Zhecheng County, was the judge who tried the divorce case of Xiaoyan and Dou.
According to him, Xiaoyan only filed for divorce in the court on June 5 this year.
Wang Guofu, Chief of the Civil Trial Division of the People’s Court of Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City: “Although the domestic violence occurred one year ago, the plaintiff requested a divorce on June 5 this year through an online (filed) divorce lawsuit. The existence of mediation for one year is a misinformation on the Internet."
This statement has also been recognized by Xiaoyan.
Xiaoyan: "When I first started, I couldn't sit up for a few months because I had fractures all over my body, especially in three places in the lumbar spine, so I couldn't sit up. I was able to walk on crutches until the beginning of June. I had the physical fitness to go to court before I filed a divorce lawsuit in the court."
After accepting the case, the People's Court of Zhecheng County conducted mediation between the plaintiff and the defendant in accordance with the law.
According to the judge, during the mediation process, the man refused to agree to the divorce on the grounds that the child was still young, and the woman insisted on the divorce on the grounds that the relationship broke down due to domestic violence.
When the mediation fails, on July 14, 2020, the Zhecheng County People's Court opened a court session to hear the case. At this time, Dou has not been detained.
According to the judge, Dou admitted that he played cards once or twice a week, and he did not make much excuses for the domestic violence against Xiaoyan on August 13, 2019.
Wang Guofu, chief judge of the Civil Trial Division of the People’s Court of Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City: “I didn’t make much excuses for the domestic violence assault, but only for the part of jumping off the building, because the two sides have inconsistently said in the trial. Because the other party pulled her upstairs, she jumped to escape. But the defendant said that he didn't even go to the second floor and the other party had already jumped off."
Whether Dou's location at that time would affect Dou's conviction and sentencing requires further investigation and determination by the judge hearing the criminal case.
But the facts of Dou's domestic violence and gambling are clear, and divorce should be granted by law.
Therefore, there is no "penalty before the people", that is, criminal cases are tried before divorce cases.
Wang Guofu, chief judge of the Civil Trial Division of the People’s Court of Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City: “This divorce case is not applicable to the people after the first sentence, because the facts of this divorce case are relatively clear and there is no need to wait for the outcome of the criminal case.”
During the trial, the child's custody rights and the division of property in the clothing store were also the focus of disputes between the two parties.
Also after this trial, Xiaoyan edited the video of Dou's domestic violence and uploaded it to the Internet.
After the trial, the court held that because Dou was suspected of committing domestic violence against Xiaoyan for the crime of intentional harm and had bad gambling habits, which is not conducive to the healthy growth of the child, it is appropriate for Xiaoyan to raise the child and determined that the clothing store belongs to Xiaoyan. Pre-marital property.
On July 28, the People's Court of Zhecheng County issued a judgment to approve the divorce in this case. This judgment meant relief for Xiaoyan, and Dou said that he would appeal.
Looking through the divorce verdict, the reporter found that, apart from the last act of domestic violence, that is, the one where Xiaoyan submitted video evidence and injury appraisal, the court did not recognize the other two domestic violence.
The judge also stated that in cases involving domestic violence, the determination of evidence has always been difficult due to the concealment of domestic violence and other reasons.
And only the two parties can make it clear what happened behind the closed door.
[Rumor Refusal] It took less than two months from the filing of the case to the divorce judgment
From June 5 this year to the online divorce judgment on July 28, this divorce lawsuit lasted less than two months, but it was labeled as "difficult to divorce" in the fermentation of public opinion. The case itself has already been obtained. Clarification, but the resulting discussion on the "30-day cooling-off period" for registered divorce and the "mediation" procedure for divorce proceedings remains unabated.
Some experts believe that the establishment of the divorce cooling-off period is to a certain extent to curb the phenomenon of impulsive divorce.
For families with extreme situations such as domestic violence, victims often choose the path of litigation for divorce.
In divorce proceedings, "mediation" is also a necessary procedure.
Mediation includes two forms of reconciliation and transfer.
"Reconciliation" is easy to understand, so what is the difference between "reconciliation" and the court's "discussion"?
Li Mingshun, vice president of the Marriage and Family Law Research Association of the Chinese Law Society: "In the process of transfer, the two parties must have reached an agreement on a series of important issues such as whether to divorce, who to raise the children, and how to pay off debts. , Then the parties can accept and execute the case before they can truly conclude the case. And this judgment may not necessarily be accepted by him. From the psychological point of view, he resists, and he will not execute if he resists. Although the non-execution can be enforced, this It will greatly increase judicial costs and social costs."
Although Xiaoyan's divorce lawsuit did not suffer from "long-term mediation without judgment", according to experts, such a phenomenon does exist in judicial practice.
Li Mingshun, vice president of the Marriage and Family Law Research Association of the Chinese Law Society: "The reason for the long-term indecision is that our law and related judicial interpretations have not made a rigid regulation on the time of mediation; another reason Divorce is different from other cases. Divorce involves emotional problems. When it comes to emotional problems, people are easily agitated. Therefore, it is often necessary to sink and ease the emotions of both parties. This also causes many divorce cases to delay time. One reason for the long."
In response to this, Article 1079 of the Civil Code, in addition to the five situations stipulated in Article 32 of the original Marriage Law, adds "After the People’s Court has ruled that the divorce is not allowed, the two parties have been separated for one year, and one party filed a divorce lawsuit again. , Divorce should be granted".
Use legal means to oppose reckless divorce and at the same time protect the freedom of divorce.
As for victims of domestic violence, silence cannot solve the problem. They must speak up in a timely manner, advocate personal rights, and use legal means well and adequately.
At present, Xiaoyan also regularly goes to the hospital for rehabilitation training. Although it is not convenient to walk, she has already begun preparations for the opening of a new store.
Looking back at the "darkest moment" of last summer, Xiaoyan said that she did not regret jumping from the stairs at that time, because she was able to defend her rights and see that Dou was punished due to all the premise that she was still alive.
Over the past year, Xiaoyan has gone from lying in a hospital bed unable to move, to being able to stand up little by little with the company of her family, and start learning to walk again, and her life seems to have come anew.
Xiaoyan: "I really experienced a baby from learning to turn over, and then learning to sit up, learn to stand, learn to walk, learn to use crutches, and now this process of single crutches, I really experienced it from the beginning. It’s painful, but my family members are also very hard. They have been with me for a while."