Facts are undeniable, which means that when uncomfortable, they are ignored. The assault on the traditional family unit of father, mother and children has brought with it an increase in avoidable social harm, especially for children. It is not as though the statistics have not been readily available, but facts cannot be allowed to get in the way of progressive ideology.
Family Breakdown: The Cost to Children
The UK has one of the highest rates of family breakdown in the developed world. What is ignored by progressives who discount the traditional family is that while cohabiting (as opposed to married) parents account for only 20.7 per cent of couples, they contribute to 51.4 per cent of family breakdowns.
Research shows overwhelmingly that, in general, children from broken family backgrounds do worse than those from traditional families in just about every field: education, employment, health and forming relationships. They also become disproportionately more involved in crime, drug-taking and alcohol abuse.
In general, children from broken family backgrounds do worse than those from traditional families in just about every field.
Married parents are twice as likely to stay together as cohabiting ones. By the time they turn five, 53 per cent of children of cohabiting parents will have gone through the trauma of their parents’ separation; among five-year-olds with married parents, this is 15 per cent.
The difference in wellbeing between children born in marriage and those born of cohabitation is significant. According to pre-pandemic Office for National Statistics data, six per cent of children aged five to ten who have married parents are diagnosed with a mental disorder; among the same age group whose parents cohabit, that percentage doubles.
Children from broken homes are almost five times more likely to develop emotional problems. Children of divorced parents are more likely to have sex earlier, with 25 per cent having had intercourse by the age of 14 compared with 12 per cent for those from intact married families. Thirty-six per cent of girls brought up by a divorced parent were pregnant before marriage compared with 19 per cent of those from intact married families.
The statistics go depressingly on and cover every aspect of life. Liberal elites view the decline of the traditional family as a positive and liberating phenomenon. The reality is that this decline has had negative consequences for all concerned, especially young people, about whom we should be most concerned.
The Economic Cost to Society
Even if policymakers choose to ignore the emotional cost of broken families, they should surely consider the economic cost. Lone parent and non-resident parent families require disproportionate financial support from the state. For example, 42 per cent of lone parents receive housing benefit compared with just six per cent of couple parents.
Women have become primarily low-wage units of production.
Despite the social cost, it is more important to the state that women of working age are part of the available workforce than that they can stay at home and bring up their children. Women should have the same career opportunities as men. However, progressives forget that most women do not become judges, film producers or corporate leaders. Working a supermarket checkout is not a fulfilling career. In the UK, due to government policies, women have become primarily low-wage units of production.
The UK tax system militates against families. Married families often pay more taxes and have higher tax rates, in effect, than better-off households. The UK tax system still treats married couples as two individuals. The amount of tax a family pays ignores the contribution made by stable marriages and families towards a strong and flourishing society.
A State Which Supports the Family
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán
Instead of implementing policies which help fragment families, the Hungarian government takes the opposite course. It spends around five per cent of GDP on pro-family policies. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said: “Without money, you can’t reverse bad trends.”
Hungary initiated its family-friendly policies as a means of increasing population growth. Government policy focuses on the formation, sustainability, and growth of traditional families. This has led to greatly increased social benefits for all families and generous tax breaks for married couples and large families. Hungary’s solution is working. Between 2010 and 2017 marriages increased by 43 percent and divorces fell by 22.5 per cent. Between 2010 and 2018, the abortion rate fell by 33.5 percent. As Orban says, “You get what you incentivise.”
The fertility rate is the average number of children a woman is expected to bear; 2.1 is the generally accepted threshold for population replacement. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2010 the fertility rate in Hungary was 1.26. By 2020 it had reached 1.54. Although this is still not enough, of all the 52 countries tracked by the OECD, Hungary had the second-highest increase in fertility from 2010 to 2020.
Clearly this is anathema to the progressive left: the Guardian sneeringly describes Hungary’s pro-family policies as turning women into ‘baby machines’. In the Guardian’s view, everything happening in the West contributes to the destruction of the planet. Their inevitable conclusion, of course, is that the West should stop reproducing itself.
A State Which Ignores the Family
In the UK, 1972 was the last year in which the fertility rate was at replacement level. This year it has a projected birth rate of 1.74, well below replacement level. This decrease has not been helped by the 10,000,000 abortions since the 1967 Abortion Act.
Statistic after statistic makes clear the impact of the assault on the traditional family.
Instead of promoting the family, successive UK governments have chosen to combat falling indigenous birth rates by mass immigration which leads to ever greater immigration. We bring in people to fill low-wage jobs, they bring their families who grow up and naturally don’t want the low status employment of their parents. This means the government brings in more immigrants to fill those low-wage jobs, and the population grows and changes. In 2020, more than 9.5 million people living in the UK were born abroad – that is 14.4 per cent of the official total UK population of 66.3 million. All because our governments refuse to promote the traditional family.
Statistic after statistic makes clear the impact of the assault on the traditional family. The cost is undeniable. How long will we acquiesce in the destruction of society?
The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.
Notes
Unless otherwise stated, statistics quoted in this article come from the Office of National Statistics.