Changing Divorce Rates

cent years divorce rates in the UK have begun to fall. It has been well documented how divorce rates had been increased over the period of many years prior to this. There are many reasons why divorce rates first increased rapidly, and why they are now falling from those highs. There was a particularly large increase in divorces during the 1970's. From the early 1970's until the mid-1980's the number of marriages ending in divorce more than doubled. It then continued to rise steadily for the next ten years. The rate is now beginning to come down.

Originally there were no divorce laws. This meant that divorce was effectively illegal, and something that people just didn't think about. Once you were married, you were married for life. For many years after divorce law came into place though, it was still rare. For many it was deemed unacceptable, especially within religion. It just wasn't something you did. People felt like, and were made to feel like, they were a failure if they divorced.

In the 1950's and 1960's divorce became more socially acceptable, meaning more people started to get divorced. Among certain people however, it was still not considered right, and it was still not common. As it become more acceptable it inevitably became much more common. Eventually it got to the stage where anyone in an unhappy married would consider divorce, and this obviously led to much high divorce rates.

Over recent times the number of divorces in the UK has started to fall again. One of the reasons for this is that so many people got divorced during the 1970's and early 1980's. Many people who would have been unhappy in their marriage for many years prior would not have considered divorce as an option. As it became acceptable though, these people started to consider it, meaning a large number of divorces in a short period. It was almost as though many people were at a stage where divorce was best for them, but felt they had to remain married anyway. They then felt they could divorce and all got divorced around the same time. After they had done, it meant there were less people wanting a divorce.

Another significant reason why less people are getting divorced now is that people are getting married later in life. This means more people are making sure they know it is what they want before committing. Marriage is also less common, and the less marriages there are, the less people there are to get divorced. Many couples are living the life of a married couple, by living together and having children, meaning that the break up of these relationships are not part of the divorce statistics.

Andrew Marshall ©

Family Law Solicitor


Government Divorce Rate Statistics