"Put children's interest first," a Beijing district court tells divorcees. (Photo : Reuters)
As rising divorce cases have become a serious social concern for China, one of the districts of the country's capital has stepped up and made a move to provide a solution to the issue.
Earlier in March of this year, Beijing's Mentougou District local court has designated all divorce cases of couples with children to its juvenile delinquency division.
This strategic decision comes after acknowledging that the process of divorce could pose mental anxiety to the minors of the involved parties.
Yang Chang, president of the said local court's division, said that a huge fraction of the area's municipal defenders are those who have failed to receive appropriate care and attention from parents.
As well, part of its efforts to combat the issue is exploring a pre-divorce education paradigm for the couples. For instance, before undergoing court trial, a video clip entitled "Divorce? Made Up Your Mind?" is to be shown.
"The education mechanism helps couples realize the impact on the children that comes with their divorce, and leads them to put the children's interests first while settling disputes," Yang remarked.
Moreover, handbooks are also handed out, emphasizing the possible inappropriate behavior that could be adapted by their children once the divorce has transpired.
After watching and reading the said materials, couple Chen Fang and Liu Gang (not their real name) hasve refrained from fighting and blaming each other.
So far, the Mentougou Court was able to conclude 48 divorce cases in 2015, 85 percent of which being settled via reconciliation or withdrawal of lawsuits. The figure is 19 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
China's Ministry of Civil Affairs reported that 3.64 million couples have registered for divorce last year, posting a 40-percent year-on-year increase.
