Divorce enquiries up following lockdown

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Lockdown has put a strain on couples across the world and Guernsey is no different, with a 66% rise in enquiries to Citizens Advice about ending relationships in recent months.

Between 1 April and 16 September, the charity saw a huge increase in the number of clients asking for advice on breaking off their relationship, civil partnership or marriage, compared to the same period last year.

"Some of these enquiries may have been from clients who contacted us more than once during this period and possibly we may have seen both parties individually," a spokesperson for the charity explained. "However, this statistic has not been broken down to provide us with that detail, so the increase 66% is a rough indication."

Despite that though, statistics from the island's Greffe suggests official divorce rates might actually be down this year.

Pictured: Couples have to file for divorce at Guernsey's Royal Court.

A total of 128 divorce petitions were filed with the court in 2019, compared to 73 so far this year.

"Looking at last year's figures I can confirm that between 1 January and 9 September 2019, a total of 86 petitions were filed, so the number this year is actually down," Her Majesty's Deputy Greffier, Geoff Chapman, told Express. 

Guernsey's Courts were closed to the public for several months during lockdown, which is likely a contributing factor. However, while disgruntled spouses across the globe have reportedly hurried to enquire about a split as soon as restrictions allowed, the island's Greffe has not experienced the same rush.