PEOPLE stay in loveless marriages for many reasons: anxiety about the impact of splitting up on their children; financial dependency on a spouse; fear of loneliness. Tini Owens is stuck in hers because a judge refused to give her a divorce. She said that her husband’s treatment of her, including scolding her in front of their housekeeper and ignoring her over a meal, amounted to unreasonable behaviour, grounds for divorce. The judge, however, disagreed, saying they were “minor altercations…to be expected in a marriage”. Since her husband has refused to consent to the break-up, she must wait five years. Ms Owens has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling. Her position would be simpler if England and Wales did not insist on blame being part of divorce.
人之所以待在一段无爱的婚姻里,原因有很多:担心离婚对子女造成的影响,对配偶的经济依赖,还有对孤独的恐惧。Tini Owens困在自己的婚姻里,因为法官拒绝判她离婚。她说正是因为丈夫的粗暴对待,包括当着管家的面责骂她,吃饭时从头到尾忽视她,以及种种不可理喻的行为,成了她离婚的理由。然而法官不同意,说他们是“小打小闹——这在一段婚姻中是预料得到的。”因为丈夫拒绝同意离婚,她必须再等五年。Owens女士提起上诉,要求法院撤销判决。如果英格兰和威尔士不再坚持过错是离婚不可缺少的因素,那么她的处境会简单得多。