In a rare case, the People’s Court in Tháp Mười District in Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp has approved a divorce, after a husband claimed to have suffered domestic abuse from his wife.
In his petition which was sent to the court, H.T.H (not his real name) said he and his wife, L.T.V (not her real name), were married and earned a living as street vendors.
H sought a divorce as his wife was regularly verbally abusive to him, even when he was working in the paddy field.
He said previously, he had sent a letter to the local government requesting a divorce hoping she would change her behaviour, but she didn’t. At that time, local authorities only conducted mediation work and didn’t resolve his request for a divorce because they weren’t authorised to do so.
According to the Jury Board, Clause 2, Article 56 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates that when a spouse seek a divorce and mediation fails, the court shall resolve the divorce if one of the spouses has committed domestic violence or seriously violated the rights and obligations of the husband or wife.
In accordance with Clause 1, Article 2 of the 2007 Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, verbal abuse is an act of domestic violence.
According to a Government report released last year, more than 127,250 cases of domestic violence occurred in the country from 2012 to 2016. Nearly 80 per cent of annual divorce cases are caused by domestic violence. Most of the victims of domestic violence in Việt Nam are women.
At the court, both admitted that V had verbally abused H, making him losing face in front of his friends, making his life miserable. Eventually, the jury board agreed with H’s request. — VNS