GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - There’s some debate over the answer. While there has been an increase in divorce applications, the administration of these applications has been delayed due to the fact that many courts have been closed due to the pandemic.
The result is a glut of applications that need to be processed as soon as possible.
Make or break
The lockdown has forced many couples to confront issues that they may have been avoiding for a long time. Knowing that you can rely on your partner for support during a time of crisis is critical.
A strong relationship is able to withstand the added stressors, but a relationship that was showing cracks before the crisis may end up crumbling.
According to a June report in the British Telegraph, “Divorce enquiries are up 42% since coronavirus restrictions started.”
Some reports have noted that China’s divorce applications have increased by 30%. However, a November 2019 article by the South China Morning Post noted that there was already an increase in divorce rates in the country due to amended laws and declining stigmas.
The lockdown may have been the final straw for some couples who were considering divorce before the pandemic began.
In a piece by The Global Times, the divorce statistics in China were attributed to a combination of administration backlog (due to offices being closed during the lockdown) and the fact that many couples were cooped up in close quarters during the period.
But due to the admin backlog, the increase in applications is not as significant as it may initially seem.
This observation is echoed by Natasha Truyens, Family Law Attorney, Senior Associate – Barnard Inc. Attorneys in South Africa.
“Not everyone will indicate whether their divorce was pandemic-related, but there’s no doubt it’s created additional conflict,” says Truyens. “Still, tracking the cause of the surge in divorce cases following the pandemic is tricky, given that, as courts have been closed and are now reopening, so there’s a scramble to deal with the backlog of divorces that were in process, or those break-ups that were a fait accompli before the lockdown was ordered.”
