Introduction
There is no denying that loving relationships can b difficult, complicated, and not always successful. And the rate of divorce in Australia that has varied over the last fifty years reflects this. Ever since the introduction of “No Fault Divorce” in 1975 the family law act influenced the rate of marriages and divorce trends in Australia (Power, 2022). The approval of the legislation permitted divorce no matter the cause of separation, which escalated the divorce rate by 4.5 percent for every a thousand people. With the highest recording of divorce in Australia credited to the legislation, fewer people tend to get married until they are emotionally stable as opposed to the prior sequence. Covid-19 impacted the rate of marriages and divorce in Australia, with the first Covid-19 restrictions lowering the rates of marriages by 30 percent. The situation is considerably more complicated as it relates to evaluating divorce. Even though the rate of divorce had decreased in recent years, initial signs indicate that there were anticipations for a rise in divorce cases in 2020 whenever the new Covid-19 data was released (Damien Greer Lawyers, 2023). This essay will cover the impact of Covid-19 on marriage and divorce rates in Australia, highlighting the reasons for marriage patterns, the economic scope, and why more individuals sort online sites for dating.
Marriage and Divorce Patterns during Covid-19
The number of marriages recorded in 2021 was 89,164. This number was lower compared to the pre-pandemic period, yet it was higher as compared to the 78,989 that was recorded in 2020. The Australian government implemented a series of policies that contributed to the overall reduction of marriage rates (Marriage and Divorce, 2022). These policies include limiting international traveling, reducing the tendency of overseas marriages, and restricting the density and size of gathering and socialization activities that deprived couples of the right to hold marriage ceremonies. Furthermore, the Australian government established support measures policies for the economic stability of its citizen, such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper, that has safeguarded the financial security of people that prevented individuals from getting into marriage for a financial drive.
The number of people filing for a divorce has spiked ever since the start of Covid-19 due to the stresses brought about by the pandemic. Statistics from Federal court and family indicates that divorce cases filed during the pandemic period were deemed the highest figure for more than a decade to the extent of giving birth to a new profession, divorce coach (Barker, 2022). Besides the pandemic stresses a major cause of increased divorce, the government’s financial security has made couples realize they can learn to live without each other.
Economic Perspective for Divorce Decisions
On the economic framework, two aspects implicate the financial status during the divorce decision. One aspect is losing the wealth-generation ability attached to marriage and losing finance to divorce industries. Most people decide on divorce procedures because of inclined benefits or costs attached to the decision (Wendy, 2014). The associated cost involves the legal expenditures for divorce filing, the financial cost of providing support payments through the division of assets, and the emotional cost associated with the dissolution of marriage. Based on the above cost, the divorce process will serve as a remedy to allow individuals to proceed with their lives and achieve the financial benefit of avoiding sharing of asserts or providing supportive payments in the marriage (Wendy, 2014). The law allows a 50/50 division of assets during a divorce. With such a law, women are tempted to make divorce decisions to gain wealth allocation from the divorce.
Reason for Online Dating during Covid-19
The economic knowledge learned from module 3, such as supply and demand can be used to explain the increase in online dating during the pandemic. The imposed restriction during the pandemic for both public gathering and international travels increased the demand for socialization and interaction with intimately attracted individuals (Gibson, 2021). With the restriction limiting the supply for face to face chances of public interaction, online dating sites were the only alternative solution for the increased demands. The rise of demand for online dating services increased possible suitor’s supply while reducing the cost of locating a potential match. Based on the circumstances established with the pandemic, individuals may resort to online dating sites due to its cost effective in finding a match, due to demand for life partners and due to a ready supply of people with similar interest in the dating site.
Various researches indicate that online dating sites have potential of establishing promising marriages than ever. Investigators at Chicago University in 2005 examined marriages that were conceived both in person and online. The results showed that marriages resulting from online interactions were more probably to survive longer than marriages resulting from offline partnerships. Around 6 percent of couples that interacted online experienced a divorce, contrasted to 7.6percent of couples that interacted in person (Hanlon, 2022). Online associated marriages had a 5.6 satisfactory rate which indicates that online dating sites increase marriage rates while reducing divorce rates as compared to traditional marriage with a satisfactory rate of 5.4. Covid-19 created an opportunity for the popularity of online dating activities.
Recommendations
When a research finds out that there are more people in marriages that are not as happy as single people during the pandemic, the nation should increase provision incentives for marriage individuals and increase the cost for divorce. This is because the unintended results of such policies may implicate the future of the couple and the children as a whole. These policies will increase the demand and rate at which people are divorcing as well as reducing the chances of marriages to take place. Another consequence is that such policies will breed single parent, which will burden the government in providing financial aids. Moreover, divorce reduces the financial cooperation for both parties that may force people to live in poverty due to reduction in income supply in the family. Instead, it is better for the government to increase incentives as a way of encouraging couples to work out their differences and stay together.
Conclusion
The impact Covid-19 gave a fatal blow to marriage and divorce department in Australia with the highest number of divorce being recorded with lower marriage rates due to Covid-19 related stressors but gave rise to online dating. The divorce has a very substantial economic impact to financial and asset distribution of a family which may force individuals to live in poverty. Government should increase the incentives for couple to promote marriages in Australia.
References
Gibson, A. F. (2021). Exploring the impact of COVID‐19 on mobile dating: Critical avenues for research. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(11), e12643.
ASPE (2002). State Policies to Promote Marriage. https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/state-policies-promote-marriage
Wendy McElroy. (2014, July 8). The Economics of Marriage and Divorce – Foundation for Economic Education. https://fee.org/articles/the-economics-of-marriage-and-divorce/
Power, C. (2022, January 26). Divorce in Australia: The Statistics on Why Marriages End – 2023. Clinton Power + Associates. https://clintonpower.com.au/2022/01/divorce-in-australia/
Barker. J. (2022, August 20). As divorce applications peaked during COVID, a surprising new profession emerged. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-21/australian-divorce-applications-peaked-during-covid-19/101345170
Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2021. (2022, November 10). Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/marriages-and-divorces-australia/latest-release
Hanlon, S. (2022, December 2). Dating Apps Can Lead to Less Divorce, According to Research. theknot.com. https://www.theknot.com/content/online-dating-and-marriage-study
Damien Greer Lawyers. (2023, February 25). Latest Marriage & Divorce Statistics Australia | Damien Greer Lawyers. https://damiengreer.com.au/family-law/statistics/marriage-divorce-statistics-australia/
write