When did humans start getting divorced? - Rod Phillips

譯者: Claire Hsu 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

The earliest known divorce laws were written

已知史上最早的離婚法記載於

on clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia around 2000 BCE.

公元前約 2000 年 古代美索不達米亞的泥板上。

Formally or informally, human societies across place and time

無論正式或非正式， 跨越時空的不同人類社會

have made rules to bind and dissolve couples.

都曾建立規則，讓夫妻結合與離異。

Inca couples, for example, started with a trial partnership,

舉例來說，印加帝國的夫妻， 一開始會進行試婚，

during which a man could send his partner home.

其間男性可以把他的伴侶請回家去。

But once a marriage was formalized, there was no getting out of it.

但是婚姻一旦正式化之後， 就無法從中脫身了。

Among the Inuit peoples, divorce was discouraged,

因紐特人的社會不鼓勵離婚，

but either spouse could demand one.

但是任何一方可以要求離婚，

or they could exchange partners with a different couple—

或是他們可以 和不同的夫妻交換伴侶，

as long as all four people agreed.

只要四人全部同意。

The stakes of who can obtain a divorce, and why, have always been high.

誰可以離婚以及離婚的原因 一向攸關得失。

Divorce is a battlefield for some of society's most urgent issues,

對某些社會最迫切的議題而言， 離婚是兵戎相見的戰場，

including the roles of church and state, individual rights, and women’s rights.

這些議題涵蓋教會與國家的角色、 個人權利與婦女權利。

Religious authorities have often regulated marriage and divorce.

宗教組織從以前就經常藉神權 制定結婚與離婚的規定。

Muslims in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia began using the Quran’s rules

非洲、中東和亞洲地區的穆斯林

在公元七世紀開始採用 《古蘭經》中的規定──

in the 7th century AD—

generally, a husband can divorce his wife without cause or agreement,

丈夫一般無需任何理由或協定 就可以和妻子離婚，

while a wife must secure her husband’s agreement to divorce him.

然而妻子必須獲得 丈夫的同意才能離婚。

In Europe, Christian churches controlled divorce from the 11th century on,

在歐洲，基督教教會 從十一世紀開始管控離婚；

with the Catholic Church banning it entirely

天主教完全禁止離婚，

and Protestant churches allowing it in restricted circumstances,

新教教會則在限制重重的 條件下允許離婚，

particularly adultery.

特別是通姦。

In the late 18th century, a series of changes took place

十八世紀後葉發生了一連串改變，

that would eventually shape divorce laws around the world.

最終影響世界各地的離婚法律。

Following centuries of religious conflict,

經過幾世紀的宗教衝突後，

Europeans pushed for state governance separate from religious control.

歐洲人努力爭取讓國家治理權 脫離宗教的控制。

Secular courts gradually took over education, welfare, health, marriage—

非宗教的法庭逐漸接管 教育、社福、公衛、婚姻──

and divorce.

以及離婚。

The French Revolution ushered in the first of the new divorce laws,

法國大革命開創了第一條新的離婚法，

allowing men and women to divorce for a number of grounds,

允許男男女女可根據一些原因而離婚，

including adultery, violence, and desertion, or simply mutual consent.

包含通姦、暴力和遺棄行為， 或只要有雙方的同意即可。

Though progress was uneven, overall this sort of legislation spread in Europe,

雖然進展不一致，但總體而言，

這種立法在十九世紀的歐洲、北美洲 和一些歐洲殖民地傳開來。

North America and some European colonies in the 19th century.

Still, women's access to divorce often remained restricted compared to men.

然而，與男性相比， 女性離婚的機會仍然經常受到限制。

Adultery was considered more serious for women—

女性犯下通姦罪被認為更加嚴重──

a man could divorce his wife for adultery alone,

男性可以單就通姦罪與妻子離婚，

while a woman would need evidence of adultery,

而女性必須拿出通姦的證據，

plus an additional offense to divorce her husband.

再加上另一個罪行， 才能與她丈夫離婚。

Sometimes this double standard was written into law;

有時這個雙重標準 是明文地寫在法條當中；

other times, the courts enforced the laws unequally.

也有的時候是因為法庭執法不公平。

Domestic violence by a man against his wife was not widely considered

直到二十世紀以前，人們普遍還認為

男性對妻子的家庭暴力 不是合理的離婚理由。

grounds for divorce until the 20th century.

And though new laws expanded the reasons a couple could divorce,

而儘管新的法條擴充了 夫妻可以離婚的理由，

they also retained the fundamental ideology of their religious predecessors:

這種法律還是保留了 宗教時代的意識形態：

that a couple could only split if one person wronged the other in specific ways.

只有當其中一方以特定的方式 傷害對方時，一對夫妻才能離婚。

This state of affairs really overstayed its welcome.

這樣的法律實在已不再適用了。

Well into the 20th century, couples in the U.S.

二十世紀已過了大半， 有的美國夫妻沒有辦法，

resorted to hiring actors to jump into bed with one spouse,

只好僱用演員和其中一個配偶跳上床，

fully clothed, and take photos as evidence of cheating.

衣衫完整，拍下照片當作出軌的證據。

Finally, in the 1960s and 70s,

終於，到了 1960 與 70 年代，

many countries and states adopted no-fault divorce laws,

許多國家採行了無責任離婚法，

where someone could divorce their spouse without proving harm,

這時人們要離婚， 無須證明配偶是否有過失，

and importantly, without the other’s consent.

而重要的是，也無須另一方的同意。

The transition from cultural and religious rules

從文化與宗教規範過渡到 國家認可的法律，

to state sanctioned ones has always been messy and incomplete—

這轉變一直是凌亂不全的──

people have often ignored their governments’ laws

人們經常無視政府的法律，

in favor of other conventions.

以支持其他的社會習俗。

Even today, the Catholic Church doesn’t recognize divorces granted by law.

直到今天，天主教教會仍然不認可 經由法律承認的結婚。

In some places, like parts of India,

在一些地方，如印度的某些地區，

Western-style divorce laws have been seen as a colonial influence

西方的離婚法被認為是殖民的影響，

and communities practice divorce according to other religious rules.

而當地社群根據宗教規範來實踐離婚，

In others, though the law may allow for equal access to divorce,

在其他地方，雖然法律 容許平等的離婚機會，

bias in the legal system, cultural stigma, or community pressures

但法制系統的偏見、 文化上的汙名化與社會壓力

can make it far more difficult for certain people, almost always women.

讓某些人的處境更加艱難， 這些人幾乎總是女性。

And even in the places where women aren’t disadvantaged by law or otherwise,

而即使在某些地方， 法律和其他方面並沒有不利於女性，

social and economic conditions often make divorce more difficult for women.

社會和經濟條件 經常使女性更難離婚。

In the United States, for example,

舉美國的例子來說，

women experience economic loss far more than men after divorce.

女性在離婚之後遭受的 經濟損失遠勝於男性。

At its best, modern no-fault divorce allows people to leave marriages

從最好的一面來看， 現代的無責任離婚制

讓人們得以脫離不幸福的婚姻關係。

that make them unhappy.

But dissolving a marriage is almost never as simple

但是終止一段婚姻

幾乎從來不是就讓兩人 分道揚鑣那樣簡單。

as sending two people their separate ways.

What divorcing partners owe each other,

離婚雙方欠對方的東西，

and how they manage aspects of a once shared life

以及他們如何處置 曾經共同生活的各項層面，

remain emotionally and philosophically complex issues.

仍然是複雜的感情與哲學難題。