The no-fault divorce and the impact on victims of domestic abuse

The biggest change to divorce laws in the past 15 years took place in April 2022 allowing married and civil partnership couples to obtain a divorce without having to ‘blame’ the other. Among the hopes for the new law were the benefits it would bring for victims of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse and divorce

Previously, in order to divorce you had to wait for a period of two or five years before a divorce could be granted. The only other option was to rely on grounds of unreasonable behaviour or adultery, fault-based facts which often led to increased hostility between the parties and risk of further abuse, especially when couples continued to live together. This protracted divorce process gave perpetrators additional time and avenues to continue to control their partner.

Research has highlighted that the fault-based system created barriers to divorce that trapped victims of domestic abuse in unsafe and unhappy marriages, and caused them to stay for longer than they would have if there been an alternative way to divorce.

Unnecessary trauma

When using the ground of unreasonable behaviour in a fault-based petition, petitioners had to give the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage. Victims of domestic abuse would have to choose whether or not to state the abuse as a ‘reason’ for divorce knowing that voicing this could risk their safety.

If they did decide to use abuse as their grounds for divorce, perpetrators previously had the opportunity to contest and defend the divorce, resulting in the victim having to attend court to face their abuser and share their personal experiences, placing immense and unnecessary pressure on them. To avoid the trauma of court, a significant amount of domestic abuse victims would accept facts about themselves that were untrue, to speed the divorce up and escape their abuser at the earliest opportunity.

Removing the outdated divorce law

It is hoped that the introduction of no-fault divorce in April 2022 would benefit victims of domestic abuse by removing the legal requirement to evidence their justification for divorce against outdated and arbitrary criteria, as well as removing the right for respondents to contest a divorce.

No-fault divorce has brought a welcome end to the ‘blame game’ lowering the overall impact of divorce by enabling victims of domestic abuse to seek a divorce simply because they believe that their marriage has broken down, without the need for lengthy separation periods, airing painful details, and without the fear that their divorce may be contested.

Family Law Advice

If you are in an unhappy or abusive relationship and would like advice on your legal situation, our experienced team of family solicitors at Leeds Day LLP can help.  Contact the team by sending an email to: family@leedsday.co.uk, telephone: 0844 567 2222 or for more information generally, visit our website:  www.leedsday.co.uk/family.