Difficulties of Obtaining a Divorce in Victorian England Essays

Bound in Union The Difficulties of Obtaining a break in straitlaced EnglandDivorce Legislation of the straight-laced * 1839 Child Custody Act- Women, if proven innocent of adultery, could obtain custody of their children under seven. (Previously custody had been, without exception, awarded to the father.) * 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act- naturalized regulations for secular divorce, making civil divorce, earlier than divorce by take on of Parliament, possible. Also outlined grounds for divorce, which differed for men and women, and secured property rights for divorced women. * 1870 espouse Womens Property Act- Allowed women to keep their earnings and inheritance along with humiliated sums of money, though every(prenominal) other property fell to the husband. * 1873 Custody Acts- Women could raise custody of children up to 16 years of age even when adulteresses * 1882 get hitched with Womens Property Act-Women could keep all property, real and personal acquired beforehand and after marriage. * 1884 Matrimonial Causes Act- Allowed wives of adulterers to immediately petition for a divorce rather than waiting the formerly required two years * 1886 Custody reforms minded(p) mothers automatic custody of children after the death of the father. (Legal Milestones for Women 1832-1928)Divorce rates during the Victorian Period remained significantly lower than those of the present. Only one in x women divorced once married due to several contributing component (Life for Women). The law, religious doctrine, societal stigma, and the limited financial opportunities available to women all functioned as deterrents to divorce. Yet despite the encumbrances and inequity inherent in Victorian divorce, legislation made significant stride... ...orce in Australia. The beginning of his paper focuses on how Victorian Englands laws affected Australia, and the paper remains throughout intriguing and informative.Works CitedLife for Women. Victorias Past. 3 January 2005. 16 Mar. 2005 .Finlay, Henry. Divorce and the Status of Women. 16 Mar. 2005 .Legal Milestones for Women 1832-1928. 16 Mar. 2005 .Feinberg, Patricia. The Divorce Bill. March 2001. Victorians Uncovered. 16 Mar. 2005 .Ziembra, Melissa. Marriage and Divorce in Victorian England. 16 Mar. 2005 .