Woman’s suicide attempt raises questions about siblings raising siblings in China
- The young woman was responsible for raising her three siblings after their divorced parents deserted the family
- She said she struggled to make enough money as a shop assistant in Hangzhou
The attempted suicide of a woman in eastern China after years of taking care of her three siblings sparked a debate about the legal responsibilities placed on siblings in the absence of parents.
The 20-year-old from Zhejian province, identified by her surnamed Liu, had been taking care of two younger sisters and a little brother, the oldest of whom is currently 12 years old, after their parents divorced and deserted the family when Liu was little.
Liu was found unconscious on March 23 in a river near a bridge after an apparent attempt to drown herself. The Good Samaritan called the police and an officer named Qiu Changming and another auxiliary policeman jumped into the water to save the woman.
Liu was sent to the hospital with minor injuries. After refusing to talk to authorities about the incident, she started to cry when her two friends came to the hospital and a woman police officer asked why she wanted to commit suicide.
The young woman said she struggled to make enough money to support her three siblings with her job as a shop assistant in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang.
Her three siblings live with their grandparents in their home in Xuanwei, in the southwestern province of Yunnan and Liu said the pressure had become too much.
“I have tried to kill myself more than once,” Liu told the woman officer while showing her scars on her wrist.
Liu’s said her parents “deserted us, but I cannot desert them”, referring to her brother and sisters.