Divorce

• divorce


  a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in whole or in part
• annulment


  when the marriage was not legal and didnt not happen at all
• voided annulment

  • under 18
  • already married
  • forced
  • close family member
• defective annulment

  • not consummated
  • not consented due to drugs or alcohol
  • one partner has an STI prior to marriage
  • women is pregnant by another man
• functionalist view on divorce

  • positive
  • believe its functional
• the new right perspective on divorce

  • negative
  • believes divorce undermines tradition
  • leads to parents leaving their family
• post modernist view of divorce

  • positive
  • choice is good
• feminist view on divorce

  • positive
  • women get freedom
• social action view on divorce

  • neither positive or negative
  • want to know the reasoning behind divorce
• secularisation


  the decline in the influence of religion in society
• changing pattens of divorce

  • since the 1960s there has been a great increase in the number of divorces in the UK
  • the number of divorces doubled between 1961 and 1969, and doubled again by 1972
  • the upward trend continued, peaking in 1993 at 165,000
  • the number of divorces has fallen somewhat since the 1990s, but still stood at 118,000 in 2012 - about six times higher than in 1961
  • this rate means that about 40% of all marriages will end in divorce
  • one reason for the fall in number of divorces since the 1990s is that fewer people are marrying in the first place and choosing to cohabit instead
  • about 65% of decisions for divorce now come from women in contrast to 37% in 1946
• reasons for increase in divorce

  • changes in the law
  • reduced stigma and changing attitudes to relationships
  • secularisation
  • rising expectations of marriage
  • women's increased financial independence
  • feminist explanations
  • modernity and individualism in society
• changing attitudes to relationships

  • giddens - confluent love has replaced romantic love meaning people are more willing to leave their partners
  • Beck - family is negotiated in late modern society and if conditions placed upon relationship are broken, divorce happens
  • higher expectations of marriage - although divorces has declined, so have marriages as people want more from relationships
• increased life expectancy

  • people living longer impacting the age they marry and their likelihood of divorcing
  • divorce rate over 65 in 2018 has increased by 30%
  • people can leave unhappy marriages and seek remarriages
• consequences of divorce

  • can impact children as parental conflicts may occur,
  • formation of new families such as reconituated families which could cause conflict
  • greater number of marriages can lead to more lone-parenting
  • financial issues for partners
• most likely to divorce if..

  • marry young
  • have a child before they marry or cohabit
  • if one or both partners have been married before
• changes in the law

  • divorce reform act 1969
  • the idea of a matrimonial offence or 'guilty party' was abolished, making 'irretrievable breakdown' of marriage the sole ground for divorce
  • 2020 no fault divorce act
  • given people the freedom to divorce more easily, but this does not in itself explain the rise in divorce rate
• declining stigma and changing attitudes

  • since there was always a negative label attached to divorce many people didn’t believe it was an acceptable option
  • however, due to the decrease in stigma divorce is now seen as more ‘socially acceptable’ and so more couples resort to it to solve marital problems
  • divorce is becoming normalised which is causing the rapid increase in it
  • instead of being seen as shameful as it once was, now it is regarded simply as a misfortune

   
• secularisation

  • argue that religious institutions and ideas are losing influence and society is becoming more secular
  • people are less likely to be influenced by religious teaching when making decisions about personal matters such as whether or not to file for divorce
  • many churches began to soften their views on divorce and divorcees
• rising expectations of marriage

  • argues that the surge in divorce rates stems from heightened regarding marriage
  • if love fades, divorcing become justified to pursue ‘true companionship'
  • highlighting marriages enduring despite high divorce rates and significant remarriage rates

   
• womens financial independence

  • women’s economic status have reduced their financial dependence on husbands, empowering them to leave unhappy marriages
  • women can now support themselves post-divorce
  • marriage is less economically intertwined with fewer family businesses
  • women are less inclined to endure conflict or loveless marriages, making divorce a more viable option
• feminist explanations

  • married women face a dual burden, juggling paid work with domestic responsibilities, leading to increase marital conflict and divorce rates
  • women’s dissatisfaction with the unequal distribution or household chores which strains marriage
  • little time for emotional support exacerbating issues
  • working mothers with unbalanced domestic responsibilities are more likely to divorce
  • increased female employment doesn’t directly correlate with divorce rates
  • radical feminists view rising divorces primarily initiated by women as a rejection of patriarchal norms
• individualism and modernity

  • rise to individualism so people prioritise personal interests over societal expectations
  • relationships become fragile as individuals prioritise personal fulfilment over duty or tradition
  • this shift fuels higher divorce rates, normalising divorce