FAMILY - Changing Patterns of Separation and Divorce Flashcards
Is it easier to find information regarding Divorce or Separation in the UK?
DIVORCE!
What Act increased the rate at which divorces took place in the UK? HINT: Think about History and a key piece of Liberalising Legislation!
Divorce Reform Act, 1969
What did the Divorce Reform Act of 1969 do?
The Act made getting a divorce much easier and it took away the need for people to prove that the divorce was someone’s fault! It also made it equally easy for women to obtain a divorce as a man!
What are the 5 possible reasons for the rapid increase in divorce rates?
- Legislative changes
- Secularisation
- Female emancipation/freedom
- Child support
- The pure relationship
Explain how legislative changes has led to a rapid increase in divorce rates!
The Divorce Reform Act of 1969 is one of a number of reforms that have made divorce easier over the years and have seen and led to a subsequent increase in divorces.
Explain how secularisation has led to a rapid increase in divorce rates!
While people have taken vows such as “what God has brought together let no man put asunder”, divorce is a very big deal. However, it might seem less so when it is viewed more as a legal contract that can be legally terminated. Also, there is much less religious and far less social stigma attached to being a divorcee than there used to be.
Explain how female emancipation/freedom has led to a rapid increase in divorce rates!
In the past, women would fear divorce because of the financial risk of losing their husband. However, today, women are much more likely to have independent finances and be able to manage on their own.
Explain how child support has led to a rapid increase in divorce rates!
Women know that men will be expected to pay maintenance to their children (Child Support), so they are more willing to get divorced.
Explain how the pure relationship has led to a rapid increase in divorce rates!
Giddens’ concept of the ‘pure relationship’ and people using relationships as part of their self-identity and experiencing serial monogamy is highly relevant here. People do not necessarily expect their marriages to last forever, but they rather seek perfection, which means that people often get married later and there is an increase in divorce, as people’s expectations have been raised and they know their own self worth.
What is one evaluating point for the Sociological Explanations of Rising Divorce Rates in society?
It is certainly true that changes to the law have increased the accessibility of divorce greatly increase the divorce rate. What is less clear, however, is whether it greatly increased the rate at which marriages broke down. If people could not get a divorce, then clearly that was not an option, but people still separated, or indeed lived separate lives in the same home. However = It harder to find any statistical support for this and would require careful analysis of census returns to find evidence of separation, and there really is no way of accessing historical separation under the same roof. Similarly, there are plenty of recorded cases of bigamous marriages from before the Divorce Reform Act, where people separated and remarried as if they had divorced (and clearly many of these will not be recorded, especially if the second relationship did not involve a registered wedding).
What is another evaluating point for the Sociological Explanations of Rising Divorce Rates in society?
We cannot be sure whether the other factors (other than legislative changes) really have had a big impact on marital breakdown; this is because we cannot measure (with any true certainty) how much marital breakdown has increased - We can only say that there have been a lot more divorces/an increase in the divorce rate!!
Give two sociological explanations of trends in marriages.
- Only 30% of weddings in the UK today are religious ceremonies. As such, it is not clear that secularisation would have much impact on the total number of weddings as clearly most do not consider it a religious activity in any case.
- Giddens’ argument is generally used to explain why couples may be less concerned about divorce and remarriage than previous generations, rather than an explanation for not getting married in the first place.
