"The ratio of delinquent children living with the mother only compared to those living with the father only is about three to one." In order to be divorced in the era of the fifties, one mate had to be proven adulterous. Legally, one party was deemed guilty and one was innocent. That finding affected each party financially and socially enough so that most couples tried hard not to divorce. According to McGovern, "in Canada the rate of divorce in 1951 was one out of twenty couples." In the late sixties, the "sexual revolution" began and couples rebelled against the constraints of marriage (McGovern 2). Moviemakers and journalists became rich extolling the virtues of free love and liberation.
The addition of more grounds for divorce and the elimination of the need to appear in court made it easier for couples to split. Now there are no fault divorces, which further decrease the stigma. By 1987 one out of two couples divorced. Since then, the annual divorce rate has dipped slightly (Medved 1). The stigma is almost gone. Books are written about doing your own divorce. One can obtain a low budget quickie divorce by phone or fax to the Dominican Republic in about three days. Even the Royal Family discusses its divorce dilemmas on TV.
The divorce picture is not all rosy. According to sociologist Lenore Weitzman, divorced women get by on about 64% of the income they had during marriage. For their children, this translates into less money for school activities, clothes, opportunities for traveling and .
learning, day care and sometimes food. Children can be called on to do adult tasks before they are ready, like caring for younger siblings. Older children may be required to work long hours at a job to help bring money to the family. As a result, they may fall behind in their schoolwork. After a while, the child may feel it is hopeless to try to keep up and decide to quit school.
Absent and disinterested fathers also take a toll on their daughters.
