Italy’s divorce rates are increasing dramatically in the COVID pandemic period, as a country that has been considered to have a low rate of divorce has been in extreme difficult. Is it because spouses who are used to only spending nights and weekends together were faced with the reality of a “full-time marriage” for the first time in their relationship, or because the pandemic has raised anxiety and concern about the future?
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The news is a consistent source of entertainment, knowledge and discovery that never ceases to exist and always comes out with more and more material each day. Because it plays such a vital part in our lives and is so important to keep up with, it is without a doubt a piece of your everyday routine that can’t go ignored.
Whether it is to understand the ramifications of recent legislation passed, to hear about recent events and grasp the potential consequences to your country, or simply hear about what is happening in other countries in order to compare them to what’s happening in yours, the news is certainly a staple in our lives and the most consistent way to get information.
This is why Scrambled Eggs has decided to unite two of your biggest worlds: learning English and keeping up with what is happening in the world. We hope our challenging daily exercises, composed of listening, vocabulary and comprehension exercises in English, will satisfy both of those above worlds in a satisfactory and also entertaining way.
So enough about introductions, let’s get to today’s Learn English with the News topic:
Italy divorce | Fill in the blank
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Full text:
“This is Scrambled Eggs news
Divorces have spiked in Italy mainly due to “forced coexistence” under lockdown, say lawyers.
The divorce rate in Italy increased by 60% in 2020, according to Italy’s National Divorce Association (l’Associazione nazionale divorzisti italiani)
In 40 percent of cases, the divorces were due to the fact that lockdown made it more difficult to hide infidelity and “double lives,” lawyers said.
Another 30 percent of separations were due to domestic violence, and the remaining 30 percent were listed as relating to other causes.
“It’s one thing to share weekends and evenings but another to share the whole day, with all the problems related to the health emergency: health stress due to illness, lack of work, living with children with difficulties related to distance learning,” said lawyer Matteo Santini said.
“This causes an emotional explosion that creates the desire and request for separation.”
As with many sets of statistics in Italy, there was a notable difference between the north and south of the country.
There were more than twice as many separations recorded in the north in 2020, with 450 per thousand couples in the north, and 200 in southern Italy.
Italy, where more than 80 percent of people describe themselves as Catholic, has long had one of Europe’s lowest divorce rates, with only Ireland, Slovenia, and Malta reporting lower figures.
Divorce numbers in the country however increased dramatically in 2015 after the enactment of legislation making it easier and quicker to end failed marriages.
Several Italian studies have confirmed that the pandemic and subsequent economic crisis is having a major impact on families, with national statistics agency Istat finding that Italy’s already record-low birth rate was decreasing even further due to “the climate of fear and uncertainty and the growing difficulties linked to employment and income generated by recent events.”
This is Adam signing off for Scrambled Eggs News”
