Since the divorce act, the reasons for divorce did not have to be complicated. The reason could have been as simple as filing for a divorce because of a simple marriage breakdown. This simplicity in divorce caused a lot of couples to get a divorce quickly and easily without thoroughly thinking about it. This ease of divorce increased the divorce rate dramatically.
Since 1985 when the "1984 matrimonial and family proceedings act" was set, it meant people could get divorced after one year of marriage instead of the normal 3 years. This ease of divorce was commented on by a sociologist named, David Morgan who said "Divorce has become like foreign holidays - it is now available too increasingly large numbers of the population, not just he elite". This statement being very true, as divorce is so easily available and the processes have become less difficult.
However the change in law cannot be entirely blamed on the rise of divorce. Sociologist Nicky Hart maintains that when considering the reasons behind marital breakdown one should consider the following factors: factors which affect the value attached to marriage, factors which affect the degree of conflict between spouses and factors affecting the opportunities for people to escape marriage ( as stated in the above text). All these factors lead on to describe the reasons for the breakdown, as will be discovered.
The risen in divorce has lead to the normalisation of divorce. Society is no longer shocked by the idea of divorce (Cockett and Tripp 1994). Our society had become known as ‘the throw away society’, people are less committed to make a marriage work and have higher expectations. Ronald Fletcher (1966) argues that a higher divorce rate reflects a high value on marriage. The main partner who seems too want a higher lifestyle is the woman instead of the man. So in effect women and not men today file three quarters of all divorces.
An important sociologist to support this reason is Giddens (1992) who identifies a trend towards confluent love. This form of love is based primarily on intimacy rather than emotional fulfilment, (illustrating a change in values and expectations) which results in inevitable separation due to long term satisfaction not being carried out in the form of love.
Another issue relevant to this debate is the one of the increased burden upon women within the family, known as the dual burden (identified by Ann Oakley). This term is describing the two roles of the woman- domestic and paid work. Over the years women have gained more independence for the family by going out to work and earning their own source of income. This can have detrimental effects on a marriage. The first being that the women becomes progressively more stressed as a direct result of still being the primary carer as well as working, causing a strain on the relationship between man and wife. Another effect could be the man feeling de-masculinised; he no longer knows his role in the family as the women has effectively taken over both roles, leaving him to feel useless. The fact that women’s roles have changed has also meant that they are less dependant on male support, thus if caught up in an empty shell marriage it would be easier to leave as they have their own source of income and are able to live independently form their husband.
Life expectancy is also a contributing factor to the increase in divorce. Many marriages stay together predominantly because of the children, as it gives them a purpose for being together even when their relationship had died out. However as life expectancy increases the time spent without the children in the home also ascend. The time when the children intitially leave is called the dispersal faze and often results in marital breakdown as a huge purpose for the marriage is lost.
Sociologist Edmund Leach offers and alternative view point, he focuses on the negative side of the family. Often promotion can lead to families being uprooted to new areas, becoming separated form their kin. The family members have to rely on one another for all the emotional support, which can prove a burden in some cases leading to tension within the home. Leach describes the family as’ an overloaded circuit where sparks fly and fuses blow’. This statement is supporting the argument that there are other reasons why divorce is increasing.
Looking at all the evidence it can be seen that there are a large number of factors as to why divorce has increased since the 1970s. There is no doubt that successive Acts of Parliament have made it easier for individuals or couples seeking divorce to have their marriages legally terminated. The 1969 Divorce Reform Act increased the grounds for divorce, and the 1984 Matrimonial and Family Practice Act meant marriages could be ended sooner after they had began, but these seem to have had little long-term impact on a divorce rate which was already growing dramatically. Far more important, it seems, were the effects of increasing expectations of marriage (Fletcher), the nature of modern marriage (Dennis), increasing female financial independence (Hart), and the 'secularisation of society' (Wilson). That the number of divorces per thousand married couples in the UK rose from 2.1 to 12.8 between 1961 and 1988 was more to do with changes in society than laws. The legal reforms, far from causing an increase in divorce, simply reflected society's demand for the painful and protracted process to be made easier for all concerned.