Now more than ever, the cause of divorce in Haizhu, a district in central Guangzhou, often involves a cheating and abusive but guilt-free husband.

Of the 94 divorce cases that filed to the Haizhu People’s Court in 2013 on the grounds of domestic violence, 36 cases involve adultery. But most of the abusive husbands walked out of the court free of any charges due to lack of physical evidence, Yangcheng Evening News reported on March 6.

Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court said that domestic violence is increasingly driving up the city’s divorce figures. Most of the women in an abusive relationship are silent victims for fear of losing face. The court only acknowledged domestic violence in three out of the 94 cases as the grounds of divorce.

According to the Haizhu court’s statistics, 85% of the battered wives are in their 40s and 50s. Men in the same age group are more likely to resort to violence, often triggered by trivial life issues, stress, and a faded romance, said one judge surnamed Peng. The same group of men, mostly well established in their careers, often have the capital to afford extramarital affairs, he added.

There are a few cases where women succeeded after going public with accusations of abuse. A Qing succeeded by presenting an audio recording of her husband’s threats in court. Xiao Mei succeeded by catching her husband’s cheating behaviors on camera. But the rest aren’t so lucky.

As of today, China still doesn’t have a national anti-domestic violence law. The government included the issue into its legislative agenda in 2012, but so far nothing fruitful has come out.

Home page photo credit: South China Morning Post