Getting Out of a Bad Marriage Is More Difficult for Women

 Posted on September 06, 2019 in Family Law

Women are trapped in bad or abusive marriages for a variety of reasons. Below are the top three reasons that women stay in marriages that are harmful to themselves and their children.

Major Wage Discrepancies Between Men and Women Cause Women More Stress

On average, full-time female Illinois workers make just 78 cents for every dollar that full-time male workers earn. Obviously, women face pay discrimination — being paid less than men for the same occupations — but they also face discrimination in the workplace when it comes to promotions, being hired for good-paying jobs in the first place, for taking time away from work due to pregnancy, and for dozens of other reasons.

Because of this, two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, and hundreds of thousands of women are trapped in bad marriages due to the financial stress that getting divorced would cause. It is understandable that studies show that women are more stressed out about money than men.

Raising Children

Mother’s financial fears are even greater than non-mothers when it comes to getting divorced, and for good reason:

• Children are four times more likely to become poor if their father is not around
• 30.7 percent of custodial parents who are owed child support receive zero child support
• The average amount of child support received by custodial parents (who are usually mothers) is now lower than it was back in 1993
• While roughly 15 percent of families with custodial fathers were in poverty, (which is the same rate for families with a mother and a father present), that poverty rate jumps to over 25 percent for families with only custodial mothers

Women are often left to raise children by themselves. While many divorced fathers do wish to participate in parenting, the statistics do not lie when it comes to averages. According to the Census Bureau, just 19.6 percent of divorced fathers become custodial parents.

Domestic Abuse

Aside from financial stress and child-raising duties, women are trapped in bad marriages for one other major reason: domestic abuse and violence. One in four women has been the victim of domestic violence. Abusive husbands use force, coercion, threats, and most effectively, manipulating the cycle of domestic violence, to trap their wives into staying with them.

Our Hinsdale Divorce Attorneys Can Help You Today

If you are struggling to get out of a bad marriage or have questions about divorce, the dedicated DuPage County divorce lawyer at Martoccio & Martoccio are here to help. Call us today at 630-920-8855 to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced lawyers today.

Sources:

http://www.center4research.org/cycle-domestic-violence/

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2018/demo/P60-262.pdf

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2019/08/08/473379/fast-facts-economic-security-women-families-illinois/

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/13/money-stress-traps-many-women-into-staying-in-unhappy-marriages.html