Quote:
Originally Posted by viewfromthecheapseats
"Great change in the situation of women took place in the 19th century, especially concerning marriage laws and the legal rights of women to divorce and/or gain custody of children. The situation that fathers always received custody of their children, leaving the mother without any rights, slowly started to change. The Custody of Infants Act in 1839 gave mothers of unblemished character access to their children in the event of separation or divorce, and the Matrimonial Causes Act in 1857 gave women limited access to divorce. But while the husband only had to prove his wife's adultery, a woman had to prove her husband had not only committed adultery but also incest, bigamy, cruelty or desertion.[19] In 1873 the Custody of Infants Act extended access to children to all women in the event of separation or divorce. In 1878, after an amendment to the Matrimonial Causes Act, women could secure a separation on the grounds of cruelty and claim custody of their children." Wikipedia Women in Victorian Era.
It wasn't until almost the end of the Victorian Era that women had ANY chance of obtaining custody of their children regardless of the situation that had prompted divorce or separation. I see that the pendulum is finally starting to settle somewhere closer to the middle ground. Joint custody should be the default, there should be a requirement to prove that something other than joint custody is appropriate. That "proof" is often the point of contention.
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Well, my dig about Victorian views was in reference to women‘s property rights, and the attitudes towards the role of fathers in their kid‘s lives. But thanks for the history lesson.
11-12-2014, 12:21 AM
