Reading notes 2 | Still a man's world
From: The Economist March 27th 2021
Title: Still a man's world
Abstract
China's family coutrs are places of peril for women and sexism seeps into the work of Chinese divorce courts like a poison in the soil . It seems that nobody side with women in a divorce case from the start to the end.
The judges earn promotions by handling cases quickly and for avoiding complaints and appeals. They are rewarded for pressing plaintiffs to withdraw divorce suits and try once more to patch up their marriages.(In 2019,4.15m couples parted ways while 9.47m got married.) So judges routinely refuse first requests for divorce, obliging plaintiffs to come back after a cooling-off period of up to three months. Also the judges are scared to be assaulted or presiding over a case that leads to a family murder.
If a woman initiate a divorce, it is her husband's local court that deal with the case. Relatives and neighbours will decline to testify against the husband, even if police officers. Also restraining orders against violent husbands remain vanishingly rare.
Judges press those who want divorce or a custody of a child give up property or make crippling cash payments to a spouse to "buy" their freedom. They don't want to spend time haggling over a child-support order, not least because in China such rulings are hard to enforce.
Besides, state stipends for lawyers are so low that many legal-aid counsel just "go through the motions".
That is to say, if a woman want to have a smooth divorce, she have to give up children and property. Even worse ,someone have to pay some property to husband.
Two books about this topic will be publised in 2022.
Divorce in China: Institutional Constraints and Gendered Outcomes. by He Xin of Hong Kong University.
Marrige Unbound: Divorce Litigation, Pow and Inequality in Contemporay China. by Li Ke of John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York.
New words
battered:adj.1. damaged by blows or hard usage;1. damaged especially by hard usage;1. exhibiting symptoms resulting from repeated physical and emotional injury
invoke: v.1. summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; 1. cite as an authority; resort to; 1. request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection
meagre: adj.1. deficient in amount or quality or extent
heed: n.1. paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); v.1. pay close attention to; give heed to
peril: n.1. a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune; 1. a state of danger involving risk; 1. a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury;
v.1. pose a threat to; present a danger to; 1. put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
seep: v.1. pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings
miasma: n.1. an unwholesome atmosphere; 1. unhealthy vapors rising from the ground or other sources
plaintiffs: n. 原告
patch up: 修补；平息；拼凑
angst:n. (因忧世忧民而引起的)焦虑不安, 烦恼
parted ways: 分手; 分开; 分道扬镳;
obliging: adj.1. showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others
cooling-off period: 离婚冷静期
preside over: 主持；负责
brushed aside: 扫除；漠视；不理，不顾
custody: n.1. a state of being confined (usually for a short time);1. holding by the police; guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
restrain: v.1. keep under control; keep in check; 1. place limits on (extent or access); 1. to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement;1. hold back; 1. to compel or deter by or as if by threats
hand over: 移交，交出
cripple: n.1. someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back; v.1. deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; 1. deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg
haggle: n.1. an instance of intense argument (as in bargaining); v.1. wrangle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc.)
stipend: n.1. a sum of money allotted on a regular basis; usually for some specific purpose
be bought off:被收买
vanishingly: adv. 消遁似地,难以察觉地
utilitarian:1. adj. 有效用的;实用的2. 功利(主义)的3. n. 功利主义者;实用主义者
bully:n.1. a cruel and brutal fellow; 1. be bossy towards; 1. discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate;
adj.1. very good
overriding: 最重要的；高于一切的
autocratic: 1. 独裁的,专制的 2. 专横的
Beautiful Sentences
It gives Ms Wang grounds to invoke a law against domestic violence that tooke effect in 2016, allowing judges to punish abusive partners.
The country's cupreme court has repeatedly told judges to pay more heed to equality for women.
Women reporting abuse pose no threat, so they are brushed aside.
They don't want to spend time haggling over a child-support order, not least because in China such rulings are hard to enforce.
