Calming it down
Cooling- off period unbearable for unhappy couples, but helps prevent impulsive divorce
A47- year- old Beijing man surnamed Su has waited for almost a month for the city authorities to approve his divorce even though he and his wife both agreed on ending their marital relationship. February 1 marks the first day when Chinese couples can get consensual divorce after completing the 30- day cooling- off period required by the Civil Code that came into effect on January 1. Heated discussions had flooded the internet over how necessary it is to initiate such a period and how intervene in people's decis
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w much the authorities should sions on household matters. of cases of impulsive divorce n the fertility rate, and the a united family in Chinese the introduction of the coolingulsive divorces, Zhang Jing, a al lawyer, told the Global Times. statistic of the Ministry of n marriages and 4.71 million n 2019, and the divorce rate mpared with 3.2 per thousand in 2018.
However, some people worry that the cooling- off period would make it harder for the vulnerable partner in a marriage to divorce, especially women suffering from domestic abuse; it also raises the cost of divorcing.
Experts and couples reached by the Global Times appealed for more considerate marriage counseling services during the month- long cooling- off period and wondered whether the length of cooling- off period can be chosen by couples according to their actual marriage situation.
Saving marriages People wonder what they should do during the cooling- off period. The Global Times has learned from local civil affairs bureaus in Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi'an and Guangzhou that the divorce mediation and marriage counseling services have been provided according to locals' needs for many years, and were not introduced specifically for the cooling- off period under the new law. Civil affairs bureaus all over the country are also deliberating marriage counseling services designed for the cooling- off period. At present, there is no mature marriage counseling programs that are socially acceptable or identified at national level, Lawyer Zhang Jing said.
Qiu Chunna, who has been working as a marriage mediator for four years, said couples who have no major issues such as cheating, domestic abuse or debt, or where only one of the partners wants the divorce impulsively, would like to accept divorce mediation. Setting a cooling- off period may change the divorce decision of these couples.
Generally, couples
accept marriage mediation on a voluntary basis. In 2020, only 6 percent of couples applying for divorce at the Guangming District Civil Affairs Bureau where Qiu works chose mediation, however, 90 percent of those who chose mediation eventually changed their mind on divorce.
Qiu successfully mediated a young couple in their 30s who applied for divorce on January 7. The couple were still emotionally agitated when they were at the office, as they had quarreled for one day before and the wife had kicked her husband's leg.
The marriage mediators always talk with the partners separately, evaluating the possibility of depression and domestic violence first.
“If there is a major issue especially involving domestic violence, we will help the victims to keep evidence and call the police,” Qiu emphasized.
After Qiu's mediation, the couple recognized their own problems in the marriage and changed the divorce decision.
Fifty- seven couples applied for divorce with the marriage registration office of the Guangming District Civil Affairs Bureau in Shenzhen from January 1 to 27, among whom only one couple accepted marriage mediation. The number of couples filing for divorce was 37 during the same period last year and 10 of them wanted mediation.
“Fewer couples are accepting marriage mediation, mainly because divorcing couples are increasingly calm and peaceful, and most of them have considered comprehensively before applying for the divorce,” Xie Hongsi, a registrar with the marriage registration office of the Guangming District Civil Affairs Bureau, told the Global Times.