Divorce: sooner rather than later

Divorce is the thorny subject, with Malta remaining as one of the few secular democracies which doesn’t have this legislation.

Nevertheless the number of separations of married couples is on the increase.

Many people from failed marriages have embarked on new relationships and have set up second homes. But they are still unable to remarry. Cohabitation with a new partner after separation is not uncommon. Yet cohabitation is not regulated by law and the question of a second family often gives rise to messy legal scenarios. Children born of this second relationship are still considered illegitimate, with all the legal and social difficulties this term implies.

As religious taboos become less important, it is evidently becoming easier to obtain a legal separation.

The traditional concept of a Maltese marriage has long started to show cracks and a greater number of children are the product of broken homes.

What was tolerated before is no longer taken for granted.

The advent of emancipation and the concept of the working woman has catalysed the rate of separations, as women discover that they can live a different life without dependence on their spouse.

Economic independence and the ability to enjoy an independent income contribute to this.

But divorce is the scourge of society according to many Roman Catholics and the Catholic hierarchy which still holds a very central role in Maltese and Gozitan society.

Though church annulments do take place, these do not cater for the number of couples that wish to divorce. These couples recognise that there was indeed a marriage but wish to terminate it. Annulment implies that the marriage never existed. Annulment is granted only after a long process and only for those specific reasons envisaged by Canon Law, that is, the law of the church.

The political parties with no exception keep away from the divorce issue. But there are individuals in both leading parties who are soft on divorce, and although they do not speak openly in favour of the topic, their views are well known.

Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami is opposed to divorce and argues against its introduction.

As leader of the Nationalist party, he is a devout and practising Catholic.

Dr Alfred Sant, leader of the Labour party, is known to be more liberal. Though he has not spoken out in favour of divorce he had appointed a commission to look at the issue during his short tenure as prime minister.

The introduction of divorce in Malta is not on the cards of any political party. Yet it has to be said that in the 1992 and 1996 elections it was a pillar in Alternattiva Demokratika’s electoral campaign. Now, it appears that the Greens are no longer keen on promoting divorce as an electoral issue.

And yet the issue remains an important one for the hundreds of Maltese who were no longer able to tolerate a crumbling marriage and who have opted to separate from their spouses. For these, divorce remains synonymous with the possibility of starting a new life and a new family through a valid marriage, rather than cohabitation.

The tragedy of divorce comes to the fore when children are involved. There is innumerable proof that children within separated families are more prone to face problems as they become teenagers.

On the other hand, those who argue in favour of divorce state that it tends to offer stability to single parent families. Divorce gives the spouses the right to find a new partner and remarry. Children from the first marriage are given the opportunity to grow up forming part of a new family.

There are no local organisations that promote divorce though public opinion is more understanding towards the issue.

The right to start a new life after a failed marriage is not a contested issue in any European country. In Malta it is. As the number of failed marriages grows, the Church accuses society of losing out on values, while politicians have to face the plight of many of their constituents. Yet, the fact that more and more marriages are failing is a reality that not even the Church can deny. Nor can the needs of these people be ignored.

Will divorce become a reality?

Very probably it will, but not under the Eddie Fenech Adami administration which is vehemently against its introduction.

Sooner or later, despite the opposition of the Church, some form of divorce legislation will have to be introduced in Malta.