How will the new Divorce Act impact on victims of domestic abuse?

What was the previous Divorce Law?

Before the introduction of the no fault divorce law on 6^th April 2022, petitioners had to prove that there had been an irretrievable breakdown of their relationship and satisfy one of five facts: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, living apart for at least two years with consent or living apart for at least five years.

Proving one of these five facts would have been extremely difficult for any petitioner as you are required to prove fault, but especially for domestic abuse victims who have already suffered at the hands of their ex-partner but now must relive their trauma. This is particularly poignant in cases where the petitioner is required to justify their ex-partner’s unreasonable behaviour with specific examples and dates of the harm they have suffered. This ground is usually their only option with desertion unlikely and adultery not always an option and many wanting to end their relationship much before two or five years. If the grounds of unreasonable behaviour were disputed the victim would also have to face the perpetrator for a potentially long trial, where many abusers take this as another opportunity to prolong the victim’s suffering.

What is the new Divorce Law?

The new divorce law allows for the petitioner to file for divorce without having to prove fault. The parties must still prove an irretrievable breakdown but there is no need to prove one of the five facts. There is also now the option to file for a joint petition in addition to the previous sole applications.

The hope is that this new law will be a much faster process than the previous application process, as no blame is being placed on the opposing party, which hopefully increases their likelihood to respond to proceedings. Further, divorce proceedings have been made substantially harder to dispute, which additionally speeds up the whole process. It has been suggested that divorces should on average take six months under this new law. This is extremely helpful to victims from low-income backgrounds, who do not have the money to escape the family home during proceedings and fear abusive repercussions, because of seeking a divorce. The prolonged process previously used would only give the perpetrator of the abuse a longer period to control their victim.

How is the new law impacting on domestic violence victims?

It is hoped that the new divorce law will facilitate a smoother process for victims of domestic abuse. There will be no requirement for them to give examples of the abuse they have suffered and therefore they do not need to fear filing for divorce because of their ex-partner’s possible negative reaction.  This is greatly beneficial as it prevents the victim suffering anymore psychological harm because of the hearing. This will be extremely helpful in cases involving children, as they will not want to see their abused parent’s mental health deteriorate more because divorce proceedings.

Further, it has been stated that there has been a ‘30% decrease in domestic violence’ since the introduction of the new divorce law and there has also has been a decrease of suicide rates from ‘8% to 16%’.

Will this help victims of domestic abuse?

This is a change in the law that has been readily anticipated for years and is readily welcomed by all family law lawyers, and by many members of women’s aid and domestic abuse organisations. Many of these organisations have fought for the law to be amended to account for the realities of an abusive relationship, that unfortunately many face across the UK. Women’s aid has stated that it is potentially dangerous for women to have to wait five years to be able to apply for a divorce. This has left many domestic abuse victims in unhappy and controlling marriages for much longer than they would have been if they had had the no fault divorce option.

Also, with having to prove fault with the old divorce law, this only proceeded to add further hostility to many of these already abusive relationships and heightened the risk of more abuse if both the parties had to remain at the family home. This has led to many not initiating a divorce petition or abandoning them due to the fear of being subjected to further abuse and this yet again gives their abuser another way to control them. The old law also often led to many victims accepting facts that were untrue about themselves to quickly escape their abuser, which is wholly unethical.

Consequently, being able to provide these vulnerable people with this new divorce law, will hopefully get more people out of abusive relationships and provide them with a much-desired easier route to freedom.

If you need any help with your divorce petition, then please contact Family Law Direct at www.familylawgroup.co.uk and book your free initial 15 minutes phone call by pressing ‘book online’.