COUNTRIES WHERE DIVORCE IS ILLEGAL

➔ Philippines
➔ Vatican City

According to (Saulog et al., 2020)

★ Divorce has been seen to have a negative effect on the children involved, especially
during the transition period as they deal with the separation of their parents. This may
manifest in various ways such as diminished social skills, proneness to anger, and
increased irritability.

★ Divorce also does not safeguard or promote the mental and physical health of children as
it is difficult to cope with one’s problems when one’s family, their main support system,
is broken apart.

★ divorce may influence the child into losing faith in the concept of a family entirely, which
leads to another negative effect of this process

★ it would amplify the mentality that marriage can be easily broken, which may result in
people putting less effort into making it last and ensuring that they will pick the right
partner.

According to (Divorce Should Not Be Legalized in The Philippines | PDF | Divorce |

Annulment, n.d.)

★ It is not the answer to the growing violence against women and children.

★ It gives a wider path to domestic problems. This right has proven to be easily abused.
And we are not actually giving people a solution to their problems, but a chance to repeat
the same mistake.

★ It gives a wider path for immorality and marital infidelity.

★ It degrades the value of marriage.

★ Divorce is definitely NOT a TRUE medicine nor a solution to the growing domestic
problems.

According to (Martinez, 2016)

★ The divorce rate in this country is approximately 50% and it seems to have become more
commonplace that people are willing to get a divorce for a myriad of reasons, instead of
working things out.

★ You have a family. It is of course better for everyone involved to maintain an intact
family IF you are able to find a way to work through your issues and set a good example
for your children of what a healthy relationship can look like.

★ Believe it or not, divorce has health implications. If you decide to split, make sure you
are attending to good self-care and reduced stress levels.

★ The financial burden of supporting your own household may not be a reality.
According to (10 Reasons Why the Philippines DOES NOT Need Divorce, 2016)

★ We Haven’t Perfected Annulment and Separation, Now Divorce?

The annulment law itself is exploitative to an abused spouse’s pocket –
adding insult to injury. If we can’t create and implement a Divorce Bill perfectly,
then let’s not have it at all!

★ Pinoys Aren’t Ready to Live with the Stigma.

Are you ready to be tagged as separada/o, hiwalaysaasawa, diborsyada/o?
When someone separates from their spouse, they are likely haunted by it for the
rest of their lives. They are going to blame themselves for the failure of their
marriage, even when it’s clear that the other was adulterous or abusive.

★ Divorce, Like Separation and Annulment, Affects the Kids.

Whether a couple goes through annulment, legal separation, or divorce,
their children will always be the most affected.

★ It’s not Actually the Easiest Way Out.

IF divorce is legalized and made quick and affordable . . . You see, there
lies the problem. Statistics say that 2 out of 10 Filipino families are poor and 1 out
of 10 can’t buy food. How many of these impoverished Pinoys can afford divorce
when they need it? Those in the middle class, can they afford divorce when their
marriages go downhill?
Now, we may have the money to go through a divorce, but after that,
there’s still a child and spousal support to pay. Can we really afford it? There’s so
much talk about legalizing divorce, but it may be just another law that only the
rich and famous can enjoy.

★ We are Christians Through and Through.

We can’t accept divorce simply because it’s against our Christian beliefs.
Only death can ever make us free from our marriage vows. We could say that the
Philippines is the last stronghold, the last line of defense against those who don’t
uphold the sanctity of marriage, and it is our duty as Christians to fight for that
belief.

★ Divorce Can’t Curb Domestic Abuse.

In the Philippines, 19 people fall victim to marital violence EVERY DAY.
In the US, 20 people fall victim to intimate partner violence EVERY MINUTE
(that’s 28,800 every day!). While the US has a greater population (318.9 million
Americans vs 98.39 million Filipinos) and better documentation, still it’s alarming
to learn the stats of domestic violence there.
It’s been said that when an abused spouse leaves their partner, they still
end up with an equally or more abusive new partner.

★ It Doesn’t Guarantee a Happy Second Chance.

A Chicago study revealed, “divorce has a lingering, detrimental impact on
health that even remarriage cannot fully repair.” The study added that remarrying
only makes matter worse health-wise since those who remarry “had 12% more
chronic health conditions than those continuously married, which was slightly less
than the 20% for the divorced or widowed who did not remarry.
According to Researcher Dr. Linda Waite, a sociologist at the University
of Chicago, during divorce or widowhood, income drops and stress develops,
affecting a person’s health. Aside from alarming health issues, divorce doesn’t
really give people a guarantee of a happy marriage the next time around.
 Statistics showed a progressive increase in divorce rates where there’s a
50% chance of divorce at the first marriage, 67% at the second marriage, and 73%
at the third. Another factsheet disclosed that 60% of those who remarried end up
re-divorced.
What does this mean? This means that divorce is no guarantee for getting
a clean slate and finding a lifetime partner. As Pinoys would say, “walang
forever” (there’s no forever).

References

Divorce Should Not Be Legalized in The Philippines | PDF | Divorce | Annulment. (n.d.).

Scribd. https://www.scribd.com/document/240717945/Divorce-should-not-be-legalized-

in-the-Philippines

Martinez, N. (2016, April 15). Reasons for and Against Divorce. HuffPost.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/reasons-for-and-against_b_9702398

Saulog, M., Villaruz, G., Medina, C., & Abundo, A. (2020, March 6). No to the

legalization of divorce. The Manila Times.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/03/06/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/no-to-the-

legalization-of-divorce/700598/

10 Reasons Why the Philippines DOES NOT Need Divorce. (2016, January 12). Pinoy

Top Tens. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://topten.ph/2016/01/12/10-reasons-

why-the-philippines-does-not-need-divorce/