By Kaelan Deese | The Hill
Divorce rates have made a sharp increase in China as mandatory lockdowns have been put in place aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
There has also been an increase in domestic violence reports.
Chinese cities such as Xian and Dazhou recorded record-high numbers of divorce filings at the beginning of March, creating backlogs in government offices, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Clerks at marriage registration centers said they processed a record number of divorces in a single day and did not even have time to drink water.
Since February 10, a total of 311 marriages have been registered in the city of Miluo. However, the number of divorce registrations has also reached 206, with a maximum of 18 divorce procedures per day, according to a report out of Miluo.
“Times of stress and turmoil often bring out the best and worst in people. This pandemic is no exception. Some family units have thrived during this unprecedented time. But a large number are failing. The financial crunch caused by stay-at-home orders, coupled with cabin fever, have caused divorce rates and incidents of domestic violence to soar. Everyone is feeling enormous amounts of pressure and it’s starting to show. Spouses are probably still a little gun shy because of certain unknowns, such as what will ultimately happen to the value of their investments and home values as a result of the crisis. So I would anticipate an ever bigger explosion of new divorce filings once the economy starts to rebound.” ~ Kaine Fisher
