Decoupling: Gender Injustice in China's Divorce Courts

Michelson's analysis of almost 150,000 divorce trials in China reveals routine and egregious violations of laws upholding freedom of divorce, gender equality, and women's physical security. Women have borne the brunt of a decades-long practice of denying divorce requests, with judges clearing their dockets at the expense of women's lawful rights and interests.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 571 pages
Publication date: 29 June 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Michelson's comprehensive analysis of nearly 150,000 divorce trials in China has uncovered a pervasive pattern of violations of the country's own laws, which uphold the freedom of divorce, gender equality, and the protection of women's physical security. By employing advanced big data computational techniques to scrutinize cases from all 252 basic-level courts in two Chinese provinces, Henan and Zhejiang, from 2009 to 2016, Michelson has unveiled a dramatic intensification of a decades-long practice of denying divorce requests. This book takes the reader on a journey upstream to the institutional roots of China's crackdown on divorce, exploring the ways in which judges in an overburdened court system prioritize clearing their oppressive dockets at the expense of women's lawful rights and interests.

This book is a vital read for anyone interested in Chinese courts, judicial decision-making, family law, gender violence, and the boundaries and potentialities of the globalization of law. Moreover, it is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core, ensuring widespread accessibility and dissemination of its insights.

Weight: 828g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108738156