Mediation Matters: Family mediation for the ‘silver splitters’

The annual release of national divorce statistics always guarantees a flutter of excitement for a segment of journalists eager to seize on a pattern here or a trend there. If the numbers can be woven to tell a dramatic tale about the deteriorating state of human relationships then ‘bingo’ a top news story is born.

So last month’s Office for National Statistics release of the 2013 divorce figures – the latest available – were always likely to generate headlines one way or another.

But what angle would cause most interest for readers? Divorces down by 2.9 per cent? A divorce rate of 9.8 per thousand married people – the lowest since 2003? Marriage most likely to break down for people aged 40 to 44? Well hmmm nothing hugely exciting there.

So it’s no surprise that data showing the over-50s as the only age group to see an increase in divorce rates became the main focus. It may just be that this figure leans itself to one of those catchy media phrases: “silver splitters.” But that’s what became...

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