Marriage and Divorce Act

The Marriage and Divorce Act of 1857 in the United Kingdom significantly reformed divorce laws. Prior to this act, divorce was largely inaccessible, particularly for women, and often viewed through religious or traditional lenses that considered marriage indissoluble.12

This legislation made divorce more attainable by establishing civil courts for divorce proceedings, moving away from the exclusive jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts. It introduced grounds for divorce based on specific offenses, such as adultery, desertion, or cruelty, though it still maintained a degree of "fault" in the divorce process. This marked a shift towards a more secular and legalistic approach to dissolving marriages, reflecting changing societal views on individual rights and the nature of marriage itself.213