Christian Institute responds to “naïve” plans to make divorce easier and quicker

Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute responded: “Changing the law to facilitate quick no fault divorces is at best naive and at worst would further weaken the institution of marriage – the most stable form of relationship for raising children.

“Divorce rates in the UK have been amongst the worst in Europe. The figures would be far worse but for our low marriage rate. These lawyers want to add to these appalling statistics. They have forgotten that family breakdown has a seriously detrimental effect on the lives of thousands of children, or that over 10,000 couples file divorce papers each year, but never follow through with them.

“Making divorce quicker and simpler would prevent these couples and many others from seeking help and pulling back from the brink. These changes would therefore see a significant additional number of divorces granted compounding the epidemic of human misery caused by family breakdown in this country.”

Mr Calvert continued: “There is a mountain of evidence which shows stability really matters – that those from broken homes perform less well at school, are more likely to get involved with the criminal justice system and more likely to suffer from mental health problems.

“Rather than weakening marriage, lawyers who often see at first hand the hurt and damage done by family breakdown should be arguing for schemes that back this great institution, such as compulsory marriage counseling and further financial support for married couples – proven measures that support stability and strong relationships, rather than undermining them.”

For media enquiries, please contact Alistair Thompson on 07970 162225, or Simon Calvert on 0191 281 5664, or 07802 796512.

ENDS