Therapy offered to divorce candidates

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

More than one third of divorces happen in the first five years, says Şahin. AA photo

The Family and Social Policies Ministry is planning to give consultancy services to married couples on the verge of divorcing.

Speaking to Anatolia news agency, Minister Fatma Şahin said the rate of divorce peaked in the first five years of marriage, meaning that once the couples crossed this five-year barrier they generally learn to lead a more harmonious relationship.

“39 percent of all divorces happen within the first five years. Our aim is to help couples manage this tough process, to aid them in establishing better communication and understanding of each other, with the ultimate purpose of preventing the dissolution of family unity due to reasons that could be overcome.”

Statistics on marriage and divorce rates in Turkey show that around 600,000 couples are going to the altar on a yearly basis, while the annual divorce rates are between 100,000 and 120,000.

“80,000 out of this 100,000 are getting married a second time, and 12,000 of them get married with their partners again. Seeing this, we thought that couples could go to court as an antidote to several problems they suffer ... Our consultancy project is aiming to stop divorce when an antidote can be found,” she said.

Şahin said the Turkish legal system made divorces an easy process, and that in divorces by mutual consent couples could often get the decree in the first hearing. “If couples insist that they should go their separate ways, then it is again the Family Ministry’s duty to guide them in the divorce process and to help them get out of it with minimum psychological damage. We are planning to provide therapy services to divorced couples,” she said.

Şahin also said she did not think the marriages of couples meeting on daytime reality shows could be healthy, but added that the ministry was not going to bring such shows to a halt as this could be considered censorship. “The cancellation of this kind of shows depends on public demand,” she said.