Reasons for the increase in divorce rates

Legislation - grounds for divorce

1923 - grounds of divorce equalised for men and women

Legislation - legal aid

• 1949 - legal aid available, making divorce more affordable

• Divorce no longer discriminating on financial grounds

Legislation - reasons for divorce

• 1969 - Divorce Law Reform Act

  • No longer had to be a divorce by fault

  • Could file for divorce on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of a marriage

    • Fewer unhappy marriages tolerated

Legislation - same-sex marriage

• 2014 - SS marriage legalised

• Same grounds of divorce for queer and straight marriage

• Lavender and beard marriages broke down as the queer member(s) could marry their actual partner

Stigma and changing attitudes - role of the Church

• Churches condemn divorce and refused to conduct marriages between divorcees

Stigma and changing attitudes - Mitchell and Goody (1997)

• Decrease in stigma has made divorce more socially acceptable

• Couples are more willing to divorce to solve marital problems

Secularisation - influence of religion in society

• Decreasing influence of religion in society (‘be fruitful and multiply)

  • Shown by historical lows in church attendance rates

• Opposition of churches to divorce carries less weight

  • Churches have also softened their views on divorce due to fear of losing credibility

• People are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings (‘be fruitful and multiply) when making personal decisions

Rising expectations of marriage - Fletcher (1966) - views on romantic love

• Functionalist

• High expectations of marriage cause an increase in divorce rates

  • Members less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

• Romantic love

  • Marriage should be solely based on love

  • Every individual has a Miss/Mr Right out there

• RL leads to idea that if love dies, there’s no longer any justification to remain married

  • Members divorce to renew search for their true soulmate

Rising expectations of marriage - Fletcher (1966) - the past

• Used to have litte choice in who married who

• Family was a unit of production

  • Marriage for economic reasons and out of duty to family

• Low expectations of marriage and therefore less likely to be dissatisfied with absence of romance/intimacy

Rising expectations of marriage - Allen and Crow (2001) - personal fulfilment

• Marriage no longer a binding contract

• Marriage is a relationship in which individuals can seek personal fulfilment

  • Divorce if don’t find this

Rising expectations of marriage - optimism

• High rate of re-marriage shows that divorcees haven’t lost faith in the institution of marriage

Women’s increasing financial independence - reasons for it and why it leads to an increase in divorce rates

• Women less financially dependent on their husbands as more likely to be in paid work

  • Can fulfil both instrumental and expressive roles themselves

  • Freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage

Reaons:

• Anti-discrimination laws have narrowed the pay gap

• Girls’ educational success means they can achieve better paid jobs

• Welfare decreases financialy dependency

• Fewer family firms as family no longer a unit of production

  • Spouses no longer so dependent on each other

Women’s increasing financial independence - % of women working

• 1971 - 53%

• 2020 - 72%