Two out of three marriages (and partnerships) still last until death does them part. What is good about this is that these relationships survive because the people in them freely choose to stay.
Contrary to much of the tut-tutting we hear about the woeful state of Australian marriages today, I think the (relative) ease with which people can escape a bad marriage has only strengthened our society.
There is nothing good about compulsory partnerships; nothing worth celebrating about two people miserably yoked together because of legal impediments (as was true until the 1970s and the introduction of no-fault divorce), social stigma or financial dependency.
I don’t know if domestic violence has become worse recently, or whether we have simply decided to pay long overdue attention to the abuse some women suffer in the home. But if it has become worse, it might be because women are now much more able to escape destructive relationships. We know that women are most at risk of death when they leave their violent partner. Almost two women a week are currently dying at the hands of the man who claims to love them. That’s perhaps why it is really important to know what a good relationship looks like.
Rosie Batty: There’s ‘no benefit’ in a register of domestic violence offenders.
I have had the privilege recently of interviewing five very different couples for a five part special for ABC’s Compass called For Better, For Worse which premieres on Sunday at 6.30pm. They have all been together for decades. In fact, Anne and Dan have been married for a remarkable 72 years.
None of their relationships are perfect. They have all faced crises of various kinds and they have all wondered at some point whether they really wanted to stay together. For some, their religious faith held them together through the tough times, but for others it was a choice to just stick it out. Infidelity, the death of a child, the care of a disabled child, caring for aging parents, drug and alcohol abuse, infertility and the more ordinary stresses like arguing about how to raise children have all taken their toll.
However, miserable times haven’t just cost these couples something, they have also given them something, particularly once they have come to a calmer place. There is a real satisfaction in having survived, and a bedrock of trust in a connection that might have been stretched very thin at times, but did not break.
Click through the heartwarming gallery below of lasting loves. Post continues after gallery.
DEBRIEF DAILY