Marriage rates are at an all time low
Marriage rates are at an all time low with less than 50% of the population over 16 being in a civil partnership or marriage. More than half of all children born in the UK are born into families where parents are unmarried.
There remains a prevailing myth that those who are in a long-term cohabiting relationship acquire a ‘common law’ marriage. Publicity surrounding the Government’s consultation which launched on 5th June 2026 to review the rights of unmarried couples has helped to reiterate that unmarried couples currently have few rights against each other. This impacts those who leave relationships because of domestic abuse disproportionately.
The Government recognises that the law as it stands does not reflect society and crucially does not protect vulnerable partners and children in the event of a breakdown of a relationship.
Some of the most difficult cases I have encountered are those where the couple have entered into a religious marriage which has not been confirmed by civil registration. I have met countless women who are victims of serious domestic abuse who come into a meeting with me believing they are legally married only for me to have to tell them they are not married in the eyes of the law and therefore have minimal rights.
Where there has been domestic abuse it is possible to obtain emergency protective orders such as non-molestation and occupation orders and when children are at risk prohibited steps or specific issue orders. These orders are generally only short-term measures to give a partner time to try to resolve longer term issues around housing and living expenses and safe arrangements for the children.
In a firm which offers legal aid we very often act for survivors of domestic abuse, and we find that these vulnerable people find themselves dependent upon social housing schemes and state benefits even in cases where the other party may have a good income and property assets. It takes a huge amount of bravery to leave an abusive relationship, often in circumstances where the abuse has endured for years. People in this situation are traumatised as are their children – add into this financial and housing worries I wonder how some of our clients cope at all. I am humbled by the resilience shown by so many of our clients.
I welcome this consultation which has been avoided for many years by various governments for fear of ‘undermining the sanctity of marriage’. Its aim is to give better protections to those leaving an abusive relationship whether married or unmarried and to strengthen rights to make the separation process less difficult for them financially. The consultation runs for 10 weeks closing on 10th August. It has 3 main areas of focus:
- Reforming the law of financial remedies on divorce and dissolution
- Reforming the law for cohabitants on separation
- Reforming the law for cohabitants on intestacy.
As far as I and many others who work with the victims of domestic abuse are concerned reform cannot come soon enough. As it stands we are unlikely to see real reform for at least 2 years and that is optimistic. Until then we will continue to see thousands of women and children leaving abusive relationships only to find that they have no rights despite having been in a relationship for many years.
