|
By Ed Beavan
DIVORCE rates have fallen to a five-year low, new figures released by the Office of National Statistics have revealed. The number of people getting divorced in England and Wales went down by eight per cent last year, the lowest level since the year 2000.
The figures showed there were 141,750 divorces during the year 2005, down from 153,399 in 2004, which equated to 13 divorcing people per 1,000 married people. The statistics also highlighted that a fifth of people getting divorced in 2005 had already had a previous marriage end in divorce. Sue Burridge, policy adviser for marriage and family on the Archbishops’ Council, welcomed the news. She said: “The divorce rate has been fairly consistent for many years and dropping year by year, so we’re very pleased and celebrate this news as divorce is a very damaging experience, especially for children.
“It is encouraging that those who commit to marriage seem to be working at it more.” However, she warned that the figures should be treated with caution as they did not include statistics detailing relationship breakdowns for unmarried couples. She added: “We need to be careful that, just because divorce rates are dropping it doesn’t mean people aren’t experiencing family breakdown. “There are still many unmarried people living together and having children before breaking up.”
Meanwhile a divorced Anglican vicar who met his second wife through a Christian dating agency has written a guidebook for divorcees on the lookout for love. The Rev David Robertson, vicar of Ovenden near Halifax, addresses the controversial issue in his book entitled Risking Romance Again: Dating After Divorce. The book is divided into three parts and covers subject areas including dealing with the past, looking for love again and a child’s perspective of divorce.
Mr Robertson said: “If you’re divorced then you probably know that most advice about dating after divorce is pretty gung-ho. Those who give it seem to be confident people with sorted out lives and generally up-beat about the whole process. “But for many if us, dating after divorce is like jumping into a swimming pool at night — with no idea whether it’s the deep or shallow end we’re leaping into. The truth is that dating at any age can be scary, and dating after divorce is in a league of its own.”
| 
