An argument that finds favour among the anti-divorce lobby is the argument that “divorce is not a solution”. Divorce, it is argued, will not prevent any children from being harmed and will not make the pain of marriage breakdown disappear.
This argument reveals an important truth about divorce, namely that it is not a panacea that will cure all of society’s moral ills: spouses in broken marriages will not automatically find happiness simply by divorcing; the children of divorced parents will not suddenly start leading fairy tale lives. In this sense, it is true that divorce “is not a solution”.
Having said that, the argument is based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of what it is that divorce is intended to achieve. Divorce is not a remedy for the emotional harm which affects children and spouses whenever a marriage breaks down, nor is it a magic formula for happiness. What divorce does is that it addresses important legal and practical issues which arise whenever, following a marriage breakdown, the former spouses start leading new lives away from each other.
A practical example can illustrate the point better. Let us assume that a marriage breaks down between a young couple. The two separate, and the woman eventually starts a relationship with another man. The woman starts living with her new partner in a house which he owns, and the two live happily together for many years.
What will happen should, say, her new partner die unexpectedly? Not being his legally wedded wife, she will not have inheritance rights. His heirs under intestacy laws could, should they so fancy, require her to leave the house which has been her home for many years. To give a different example, what would happen should her partner decide that he is no longer interested in her? He would be perfectly free to kick her out.
Is this fair? Clearly not. Yet the lack of divorce legislation means that such absurdities can and do take place in our country. These are the issues that are addressed by divorce. These are the reasons why our country needs to introduce divorce legislation. And it is in this sense that yes, divorce is a solution.