Family law

National Good Divorce Week 2018

Resolution’s Good Divorce Week ran from 26 to 30 November aiming to raise awareness of how separating parents can limit the impact of conflict on their children.

About the author: Margaret Heathcote is national chair of Resolution.

Results from a YouGov survey commissioned by Resolution and released during the week show widespread public understanding of the potential impacts of conflict from separation or divorce:¹

• 79% of the population say conflict from divorce or separation can negatively affect children’s mental health. Among people who experienced their own parents’ divorce when they were children, this number rose to 87%.
• 77% of the population say it can negatively affect children’s academic performance. This number rose to 80% among people who experienced their own parents’ divorce when they were children.
• 66% agree a child’s social interactions with others can be negatively affected as well as their ability to form healthy romantic relationships.

These findings complement a large body of research showing conflict’s detrimental impact on children, including the Nufield Foundation’s 'Finding fault' report, which looked specifically at conflict generated from our fault-based divorce system.²

Currently, in order to obtain a divorce in England and Wales, couples are required to live apart for at least two years; otherwise one partner must blame the other by alleging adultery or what is commonly referred to as ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

Divorce law reform will reduce harm to children

Legal practitioners and charities strive to help parents put the best interests of their children first, but are hampered by the fault-based divorce system, which can cause unnecessary acrimony. In a letter to the Guardian, CILEx joined Resolution and 13 senior figures from family law bodies, children’s charities and other organisations calling for the government urgently to bring in no fault divorce.³

Highlighting the benefits of divorce law reform

Resolution has been working closely with government to highlight the benefits of divorce law reform. On 26 November last year, along with Jo Edwards, chair of Resolution’s Family Law Reform Group, I handed in Resolution’s divorce reform consultation response to family justice minister Lucy Frazer. We then held a parliamentary briefing session to educate MPs on the huge potential benefits that divorce law reform would bring as well as answering their questions on what this reform would mean for everyday families.

I would like to thank all the Chartered Legal Executives who got involved with the campaign or responded to the government consultation on no fault divorce. We look forward to campaigning further with CILEx for a fairer family justice system.

• CILEx members working in family law are eligible to join Resolution. For more information, visit: resolution.org.uk/join