Divorce

• Changes in law


  Kinds of law changes
• Equalising the grounds (legal reasons behind divorce)

  • For each sex
  • When grounds were equaled in 1923 there was a sharp increase in women's divorce petitions
• Widening the grounds for divorce

  • Grounds were widened to include irretrievable breakdown in 1973
  • Divorce doubled overnight
• Making divorce cheaper


  • Legal aid for divorce was introduced in 1941 so they were more accessible
• Changes in attitudes


  • Previously there was a stigma around divorce (socially frowned upon and churches would refuse to conduct marriages with divorcees)
  • Since the 1960s there has been a rapid decline in stigma as divorce has become more common and people's reactions are not as strong
• Alternatives to divorce aren't as popular now because divorce is much easier to obtain
• Desertion


  One partner leaves but the couple is legally married
• Legal separation


  Court separates their financial/legal affairs but they stay married
• Empty shell marriage


  Couple lives under the same roof but are no longer married
• Women's increased financial independence


  • Women being more likely to seek divorce comes from them no longer being economically dependent on their husband, and therefore able to end an unhappy marriage
  • Women are more involved in paid work (rose to 67% in 2012 from 53% in 2013)
  • Equal pay and anti-discriminative laws help reduce pay gap
  • Girls' educational success now gets them better paid jobs
  • Welfare benefits more available, women don't have to rely on husbands
• Secularisation


  • The decline of religion's influence in society
  • Because of secularisation, church's opposition to divorce is a lot less when people are making decisions to end marriage
  • At the same time, churches have lost their moral authority and credibility in the community
• Raising expectations of marriage

  People have higher expectations about marriage (ideas of social status and when that lasts so long) so the reality, people are less likely to tolerate an unhappy marriage
• Before, people had lower expectations of marriage, they would marry for reasons other than love, and would be more likely to tolerate an unhappy marriage
• This functionalist view is criticised for ignoring that divorcees remarry at a high rate and haven't rejected marriage as an institution, and for ignoring women's oppression that leads to conflict and divorce
• Feminist explanations for increased divorce

  • Argue that married women today have a dual burden of paid & domestic work. This is a new source of conflict for husband/wives, so divorce rates are higher
  • Argue that although societal change has been positive (education, employment, etc.) the private sphere has changed very slowly - marriages remain patriarchal where men benefit from the triple shift
  • Hochschild (1997) - home is unfavourable when compared to work. Women feel valued at work but men's refusal to do housework is frustrating and makes marriage unstable causing high divorce rates
  • Bernard (1976) - says divorce rate is higher because women are aware of patriarchal oppression in marriages and are more confident in rejecting them
• Changing patterns of divorce

  • The UK has had an increase in divorce since the 1960s, with a peak in 1992 at 165,000
  • The rate was 118,000 in 2012, meaning 40% of marriages end in divorce and the rate is 6 times higher than the 1970s
  • Divorces in the 1990s because people weren't getting married in the first place, instead cohabiting
  • 65% of divorce petitions now come from women, compared to 29% in 1900
  • Couples who are younger, have children before marriage and cohabit before marriage are more likely to divorce
• Modernity & individualisation


  • Traditional norms like marriage/having a partner for life have less influence over people in modern society
  • Individualisation thesis - individuals are free to pursue their own self-interest
• What does a higher divorce rate mean?

  • New Right - high rate is negative as it undermines marriage and traditional nuclear family, which are vital to social stability
  • Feminists - high rate is positive as it shows women becoming free from oppressive patriarchal family
  • Postmodernists/individualisation thesis - high rate shows individuals have more freedom to end relationships that aren't personally fulfilling
  • Functionalists - it's not a threat to institution of marriage, just a response to high marriage expectations
  • Interactionalists - accept problems divorce causes, like women's financial problems and lack of child contact, but say the family can adapt without disintegrating as divorce is normalised