UN Addresses Economic Consequences of Divorce for Women Worldwide

Women's E-News: U.N. Tackles Universal Problem for Women: Divorce, by Theresa Braine:

Guardians of the U.N.'s treaty on women's rights have begun to address one of the most daunting challenges for women the world over: financially surviving divorce.

Setting international standards on this issue strikes at the core of cultural identity and even into people's personal sense of self, says Marsha Freeman, a member of the committee currently reviewing the treaty's position on divorce. And that, she says, is "the hardest place to make these changes..."

"The economic consequences of divorce have been of growing concern to social scientists and policy makers," said Halperin-Kaddari in her statement.

Halperin-Kaddari, the main presenter before the CEDAW committee, said research in industrialized countries has demonstrated that while men usually experience minimal income losses after divorce, most women experience a substantial decline in household income and an increased dependence on social welfare where it is available. "Throughout the world, female-headed households are the most likely to be poor," she said....