Conservative groups have reacted angrily to an official report showing that divorce rates in Spain have soared since a new law was introduced by the Socialist government in 2005.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, 126,952 divorces were registered in 2006, a 74.3 per cent increase on the previous year. The sharpest rise was seen in divorces between those who had been married for less than a year: 945 were regis tered in 2006, up 330.6 per cent.
In June 2005, the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero introduced legislation, known as the “express divorce” bill, to make the process easier and faster. It eliminated the need for couples to be physically separated for a period before legal proceedings could begin.
Religious organisations and conservative family groups expressed dismay at the figures. Leopoldo Vives of the Spanish Episcopal Conference said: “It costs less to get a divorce than to change your phone number … which is neither good for the people [involved] nor for society.”
But Luis Zarraluqui, a leading family lawyer, said: “The 2005 law is not responsible for the number of break-ups. The only thing is that it has made it easier for people to divorce [who would previously have separated].”
He saw the 2005 law as reflecting social changes in Spain, which has undergone a transition from a deeply Catholic, conservative country under General Franco to having some of the most liberal social laws.
Before the new law, Spain had one of the lowest divorce rates in Europe. Many couples chose to live apart — known as “Spanish divorce” — because of the legal and financial obstacles to a formal split and the social stigma, particularly for women, attached to failed marriages. The new figures reflect the fact that such couples are now getting divorced, with the rate of separation dropping by 70.7 per cent.
In total, the number of failed marriages — taking into account divorces and separations — was up 6.5 per cent on the previous year.
Under Franco, the only way for a couple to end their marriage was by annulment or legal separation, both almost impossible to obtain. By 1975, 71 per cent of Spaniards were said to be in favour of divorce, which was legalised in June 1981