Divorce and dissolution rates of the new unions of civil partnerships and same-sex marriages in England and Wales – a demographic approach to developments

John Haskey FAcSS AKC University of Oxford Department of Social Policy and Intervention

In this article the second of two the rates of dissolution of civil partnerships and of divorces of marriages are reviewed and a peak in the rate of women couple same-sex civil partnership dissolutions tentatively explained. With women couples being more likely than men couples to end their same sex marriages and same sex civil partnerships other aspects of this differential are explored. Overall conclusions are drawn on the new unions their formations and dissolutions and the prospects for the future.

The first article in May Family Law ([2023] Fam Law 554) considered the new legalised unions of civil partnerships and same-sex marriages and appraised the most recent available statistical evidence on trends and characteristics of the couples involved. The article examined the rates of formation of marriages and civil partnerships and the changes which have occurred with the new options having become available.

The full article will be published in...