New analysis by The Separation Guide reveals more women are instigating separation

The statistics on separation have been crunched to reveal when it comes to parting ways in a marriage, it is women who are increasingly instigating the break-up.

New analysis shows it is women increasingly who are dissatisfied in their relationship. Picture: iStock.

New analysis shows females are increasingly sowing the seeds of separation, with women across the state now more likely to be dissatisfied in their relationship than their male counterparts.

The study by national platform The Separation Guide found 73 per cent of South Australian women who accessed the online guide to separation and divorce in 2023 wanted to separate, compared to just 59.2 per cent of men.

The statistics are drawn from surveys taken from visitors to the site with the SA data derived from almost 600 respondents.

“Of the (SA) women completing the survey, 53.9 per cent told us they instigated their separation, 19.1 per cent said the separation was mutual and 27 per cent told us their partner instigated it … 73 per cent of women wanted to separate,” site CEO Angela Harbinson said.

“(In comparison) of the men completing the survey, 28.2 per cent told us they instigated their separation, 31 per cent said the separation was mutual and 40.8 per cent told us their partner instigated it … men are less likely to want to separate and far less likely to instigate separation than their female partners.”

The statistics have been released a month out from what is typically the site’s busiest day in terms of visitation – January 2.

“What we see at this time of year is people either rushing to finalise a separation ahead of Christmas Day or deciding to put it on hold to have one last Christmas together,” Ms Harbinson said.

“Typically our highest day of traffic, in terms of people researching separation and divorce is January 2.”

According to the 2023 State of Separation Impact Report, acrimony between separating couples nationally is also on the rise.

“Fewer people reported being on reasonable terms with their former partner in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021,” Ms Harbinson said.

“We have also seen a 17.4 per cent increase from 2021 to 2022 in the percentage of people who have separated from their partner telling us they need information about family violence.”

She pointed also to the role financial stress played in creating pressure in relationships.

“We are experiencing some of the toughest financial conditions for a generation at the moment,” she said.

Leading SA collaborative lawyer Bev Clark, who has worked in family law for 35 years, said the reasons women sought divorce varied but infidelity, family violence and boredom were commonplace.

“We see lots of reasons, infidelity remains rife as does family violence while long-term relationships can be a struggle for some with people growing bored or apart … it all becomes a bit ho-hum,” the director at Clark Panagakos Family Law said.