A Bit of History
Divorce rates in the UK have not had a steady graph. The people who separated in the late 1980s were more than double the number of people who divorced in the late sixties. The late seventies and early eighties saw the first burst of divorces. Most social scientists point out that the sixties had seen the ‘post-war baby boom’. After the trials and tribulations of the World Wars were over, there was a general wave of euphoria and hope in the air. There weren’t too many whole and hearty young men around in the first place, and those who were there wanted to tie the knot quickly, as life seemed fragile, beautiful and insecure. This sounds self-contradictory, but this was the post-war mentality. The average age of marriage was quite young; couples were starting families while still in their mid-twenties. But their happiness was short-lived as most of these marriages were hasty and immature decisions. Therefore, the tide of divorces started roughly within five years of marriage. The age of marriage, it must be noted, is steadily rising since the eighties. The eighties also saw a lot of legal reforms and with divorce getting somewhat more manageable, more people opted for it. Families were growing smaller in size too. But the real cake came in the mid nineties. This was when divorce services started coming on to the market as such. It was no more a monopoly of rich people or stony middle class couple who would hang themselves if forced to continue together, abusive partners, or those having extramarital affairs. People separated over differences of opinions, over incompatibility issues, or over how to raise children. The twenty-first century has seen extreme fragmentation of the family, and while divorces seem to become more peaceful (amicable divorces are on the rise after all), people are steadily losing faith in the institution of marriage itself.
Why?
The reasons behind the rising rate of divorces are too many and too interlinked with our social, economic and political situation to be simplified into a few handy points, but a few have been mentioned below:
- Women have become more independent economically, and our newspapers absolutely love harping on this factor. There is a new breed of women, self-reliant, with a good job, the power to buy a house, raise kids on their own, or enter a relation without any strings attached. In fact, open-ended relations are more preferred by them.
- If the picture is so happy (in a matter of speaking), then why are there so many single moms struggling to make ends meet? Obviously, they do not match with the glossy photos of the beautiful women on our beloved tabloids. They were not too happy about the divorce, and could do with some more money. Their marriage must have fallen apart for some other reasons. Incompatibility is one of the major reasons.
- This, in turn, is born out of the fact that by the time people are getting married, they are already in their thirties. They have well-defined lifestyles, opinions, and habits. It is difficult to mould each other in the shape of the other one’s desires and preferences.
- Work pressure, whether stated or not, is a major factor.
- According to many people, the internet and chat rooms influence many marriages negatively.
- And finally, with religious beliefs loosening, the world growing smaller and outlooks becoming more liberal, cohabitation is winning.
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you want to find out more about a solicitor managed divorce see http://www.managed-divorce.co.uk
