Difficulties of Obtaining a Divorce in Victorian England Essays

Bound in Union The Difficulties of Obtaining a Divorce in Victorian EnglandDivorce Legislation of the Victorian * 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- established regulations for secular divorce, making civil divorce, rather than divorce by act of Parliament, possible. Also outlined grounds for divorce, which differed for men and women, and secured property rights for divorced women. * 1870 Married Womens Property Act- Allowed women to come up their earnings and inheritance along with small sums of money, though all other property fell to the husband. * 1873 Custody Acts- Women could gain custody of children up to 16 geezerhood of age even when adulteresses * 1882 Married Womens Property Act-Women could keep all property, real and personal acquired before and after marriage. * 1884 Ma trimonial Causes Act- Allowed wives of adulterers to immediately petition for a divorce rather than waiting the formerly required two years * 1886 Custody reforms granted mothers automatic custody of children after the death of the father. (Legal Milestones for Women 1832-1928)Divorce range during the Victorian Period remained significantly lower than those of the present. Only one in ten women divorced once married due to several contributing caboodle ( purport 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, edict 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. Div orce 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 .