Sixteen women, aged from 19 to nearly 50, with sunglasses and caps to disguise their identities, became the focus of the media in Chengdu, capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, as they presented themselves for the first time as the investigators of a center specially set up to help women.

"Many women, after suffering from the infidelity of their husbands, had to bear an unfair property division when divorced as their husbands appropriated their common property while the wives didn't hold necessary evidence," said Yan Wenjuan, director of the inquiry center, who has worked as an investigator for nearly 10 years and has met many such cases.

"The aim of our investigation center is to defend the legitimate rights and interests of women when cases such as infidelity, family violence and family property occurred," said Yan.

In the first case accepted by the inquiry center, Liu Changqiaois pressing to find her husband who broke her two fingers with a cobblestone during a quarrel and then disappeared.

Although the police are looking for the absconded husband, Liu in anger still asked the investigation center to help her.

"Women have more advantages in investigating cases as they are more amiable and more sensitive," Yan said.

Fourteen of the 16 investigators are women who have had the experience of divorce and asserting their legitimate interests with the help of such investigators.

One of them, Zhang Jing still cannot forget the sufferings her husband has brought her.

"I have had a happy family and my husband and I had a chain of restaurants," said Zhang.

"But I never imagined that when our business became better, my husband would have another woman who gave birth to his baby, and he hid part of our common property when we divorced," Zhang said.

"It's a lawyer who helped me to recover what was owed me after getting enough evidence of my husband's illegitimate behavior through investigation," said Zhang.

"I joined the women's investigation team to help women who findthemselves in the same situation," Zhang said.

"Among letters, calls or visits we received from women, over 50percent are on problems of marital infidelity or family violence,"said Hu Xiuqin, deputy director of the department of women's rights and interests of the Sichuan women's federation.

"We hope that the women's investigation team can provide more help for women to defend their rights and interests, but we also hope that their investigation won't break the law and their own body safety can be ensured," said Hu.

According to Yan, the 16 investigators will receive training from four lawyers and investigators on law and investigation techniques including psychological knowledge, reconciliation techniques and tracking skills.

Although the team is under an investigation company whose business is only restricted to commercial or civil cases, many people still worry that investigations of those women will break the law.

"We should improve the current lawyer system and legal service to meet such needs through a legitimate way," said Hu Guangwei, professor of the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences.

Source:　www.chinaview.cn