Jewish divorce in the UK: 60 per cent of women report negative mental health effects

Recent findings have shed new light on the mental health challenges faced by women navigating the Jewish religious divorce process within the UK’s Beit Din (rabbinical court) system.

The data, which forms part of the first-ever comprehensive international survey conducted by women’s advocacy group Chochmat Nashim, revealed the profound emotional toll the process could take on women, with 60 per cent of  the 112 respondents from the UK reporting negative mental health impacts.

According to the findings, 55 per cent of UK women said they had waited or had been waiting more than a year to receive their get (religious divorce), with 16 per cent waiting over three years.

This process of obtaining a get can cause severe distress, according to the questionnaire, with 35 per cent of UK respondents saying that their interactions with the Beit Din (Jewish law courts) had significantly affected their mental health, and a further 25 per cent saying that their mental health had been “somewhat” impacted.