Why People Divorce

Thousands of marriages end in divorce every year and according to experts in the field of psychology and divorce law, the trend is increasing. Many people marry and divorce at least twice, some 4 or 5 times, and some more times than that.

The reasons why so many people are divorcing today are many and varied, but one reason stands out more than others. People are becoming more educated, especially women, and they are learning that laws are written to protect their rights, too, and women are using the laws of the land to their advantage.

As recently as thirty to forty years ago, once a woman got married, she was expected to stay with her husband, through thick and thin, no matter how tough things got. Most women stayed home and raised the children and didn't have the financial means to leave their husbands.

So the husbands were kings of their castles and if a divorce was filed, it was usually initiated by the husband, even though it was the husband who was usually the problem in the marriage.

Today, things are different. Women are more educated, they work outside the home, help pay the mortgage, credit cards, car notes, and other bills, and they have taken control of their own destinies. In short, they don't need a man for financial support.

Although laws regulating marriage and divorce have always been around, they were not applied equally to both men and women. In recent years, women have stepped away from the old, male dominated, norms of our society and are speaking for themselves.

Laws have been reexamined and rewritten, making it just as easy for women to file for divorce and many women are not waiting for men to make the first move.

Statistics show that there are more women filing for divorce, today, than are men. The percentages are staggering. Some reports show than women are filing up to 70% of divorces in some areas.

Divorce laws have become more liberal than ever before.

• Women are no longer looked at as a man's personal property and laws have be enacted to protect their rights.
• Today, most women work outside the house, make their own choices with their own money, and they are no longer relegated to second class citizenship by men.
• Most women have taken control of their own destinies.

Adultery is still the most common cause for divorce, but there are other reasons and circumstances that include:

• Mental cruelty
• Physical abuse
• Child abuse and/or incest
• Desertion
• Alcoholism and drug addition
• Incompatibility
• Criminal convictions
• Sexual impotence
• Mental illness

Although women are filing for divorce in record numbers, there is a downside for them. Women, in some cases, are required to pay alimony, child support, and they may lose custody of their children.

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