Divorce, cohabitation and the good of the family (3)

The ethical, moral and practical issues surrounding divorce are so complex that, assuming some form of legal framework for couples to formally end failed marriages becomes a reality sometime soon, it may be enormously difficult to prevent a “thin end of the wedge” scenario, in which individual test cases will push the “entitlement criteria” to an extreme.

What I feel is really unhelpful is so-called expert judgement that children can gain a voice in the proceedings (Play Therapy International’s Monica Jephcott’s comments). The reality in many divorce cases is that the children are often used as bargaining tools or weapons by warring couples.

If I had anything to do with framing divorce legislation, I would start with the children’s rights and ensure that couples are constrained to place their own interests second to those of their offspring. There is overwhelming evidence of harm done to children as a long-term consequence of insensitive legal handling in these cases.