Divorce Rates and Strict Divorce

Divorce Rates and Strict Divorce Laws

Will Divorce Rates Decrease With Stricter Divorce Laws?

Marriage is the social and legal communion between two spouses that publically declare their love and loyalty to one another till the end of their live. However, the duration of these life-long vows to honor and love each other are normally cut short by divorce. Divorce is whereby all legal duties and responsibilities of marriage are dissolved. Divorce can occur due to many reasons. Over time, people change with their age, their personalities transform, and they react differently to circumstances that weren't present before. The romance becomes weary and wanes away over the years. Not all couples can handle the conflicts that are a part of almost every marriage (Denton). And when the couple feels that they will not be able to endure the conflicts and the fight to keep the marriage alive any longer, they opt for a separation and eventually, a divorce.

Divorce can be a messy affair. It can be highly stressful and expensive with court dates, the involvement of lawyers and the payment of alimony to the spouse that cannot support himself/herself on their own. The stressful part is not only for the couple involved, but also for their family, if they have any children. It is popularly believed that children of divorce are likely to have trust issues in their future relationships (Bastaits, Ponnet and Mortelmans).

Divorce is a legal procedure. Divorce laws vary from country to country. Most countries have legislated divorce since the 1970's. The only countries in the world that where there are no divorce laws are the Philippines (where Muslims do reserve the right to divorce), and Vatican City. Most divorce laws are comprise of the same basic ingredients with the division of property and debt, child custody, as well as child support, issues of alimony and other specific court orders, for example, a restraining order, in severe cases.

There are different provisions of divorce law in different parts of the globe. In Europe, the European Union Divorce Law Pact (Also known as the Rome III Regulation), was passed in December 2010, that implemented enhanced cooperation in terms of divorce laws, which shall be valid in 15 countries. It also addresses the issue of cross-border divorces in the EU. The provisions of the pact are simple enough with regard to when divorce is permitted. In accordance with the Pact, divorce can be granted if applied for one of the following reasons: fault of either one of the partner, mutual consent, and separation for over two years. While, in the United States of America, divorce is governed by state law instead of federal law. Up till 1953, all divorces must be contested in a court of law with either party at fault. No-fault divorces (where neither party was at fault or guilty of any crime against the marriage) were introduced in 1970's in the state of Oklahoma.

All divorces in the United States must be certified in a court of law to be legit. In cases where underage children are involved, parents are required to file a parenting plan which must include the custody issues and the visitation rights memorandum for the children, when the divorce/separation is finalized. The Canadian Divorce Act of 1968 recognizes divorce only as a result of breakdown of marriage grounds. Such grounds can be proven on accounts of cruelty, adultery, and separation for a year. Also, Canada grants divorce on a no fault basis. In South American countries, divorce was legalized as late as 1977. Mutual consent is required for the divorce, as long as there are no under-age children involved, along with a year of separation. In some nations, that influenced highly by the Roman Catholic Church, such as Ireland, divorce can only be obtained when the couple is separated for four out of five preceding years before the application for divorce.

As a result of the reforms in the divorce laws over the past several years, there has been a drop in the marriage rates all over the globe compared to the increase in the divorce rates (Stevenson, Betsey and Wolfers) . The number of divorces in England and Wales in the year 2010 had reached their all time high of 119,589 (Office for National Statistics). According to the marriage, divorce and mortality statistics for 2010, an estimated percentage of the total existing and occurring marriages ending in divorce is 42% (Office for National Statistics). The introduction of no fault provision divorce in most states of the U.S.A., has led to an increase in the divorce rates over the decade. There have been ups and downs, but mostly, divorce rates have rocketed upwards (McDonald). There are several causes and economic trends contributing to these factors (Why do Couples with Highly Educated Parents have Higher Divorce Rates?).

The electronic media today highly publicizes the divorce amongst celebrity couples in Hollywood or any other arena as if it is actually news worthy. This has an adverse affect on the population that watches families fall apart on television. It puts it in the minds of couples that they too will end up happy and their families would survive the trauma of a divorce, just because some celebrity couple on television did, and it will not turn out to be so bad. Getting divorced is not longer seen as the devastating tragedy that it was a few decades ago. It is now looked upon as some hoops to jump through to achieve an easy way out of the marriage without struggling to keep it alive and keep the family together. It has often been argued that allowing marriages between gay couples tends to destroy the sanctity of marriage (Babst, Gordon and Gill).

However, that is not actually the case. What really destroys the sanctity of marriage is the notion in people's heads of how trivial the bond is, and how easily they can end it without suffering any consequences (Mcdonald). The gay couples that uphold their marriages, stand by their vows, and raise proper families as a result of that marriage, are actually honoring the tradition of marriage. It is the straight couples that are besmirching the name of marriage. It has been seen that due to the influences of celebrity activities in their marriages, the average citizen is applying the same in their lives with regard to ending their marriages. There are as many divorce announcements when it comes to Hollywood celebrities as there are wedding invitations. Celebrity weddings are often about the glamour and the expensive weddings rather than the commitment to a long lasting relationship that marriage is truly supposed to be. With celebrities like Kim Kardashian (the American reality television show star) filing for divorce just after a 72 day marriage to Kris Humpheries and Britney Spears (American pop star) filing for numerous divorces, including the annulment of her 55-hour marriage to her childhood friend (BBC News). Celebrities project an image of marriage as something that can be taken aback very easily and of temporary relationships, which can be killed once the spark starts to fade. The followers of such celebrities tend to be the youth of the country, which involves persons of ages 12-45, all being influenced by the culture of short-term marriages that these celebrities are portraying.

Most of the youth that watches their favorite celebrities get divorced on screen often grow up with a slight disregard for the seriousness of marriage and may snort at words like commitment. There is a lack of respect for the sanctity of marriage in Hollywood celebrities. Thus, as a result, most of these Hollywood marriages often end due to promiscuous activities such as adultery, which further encourage the average citizen to favor such indulgences. For example, Brad Pitt's infidelity with Mr. And Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie led to an end of his five-year marriage to Jennifer Aniston. Often it is the case that celebrity marriages are a public stunt. A classic example of this is Kim Kardashian's wedding to basketball player, Kris Humpheries. The sportsman and the reality television star were married for a total of 72 days before Kardashian filed for divorce. They got married in an elaborate wedding that involved several designers, locations, a separate television series and so much more with an expense bill of around $10 million! The use of marriage for such publicity stunts not only conflicts with the idea of marriage being a union of two souls based on genuine affections and emotions but also leaves young impressionable minds with the notion that marriage is something that can be used as means to gain other achievements in life, and something not so sacred. Such practices, when highly publicized, make marriage sound like something very trivial, in fact.