Why is adultery cited in less than 1% of civil divorces?

Question

Accepted Answer

Adultery is cited in less than 1% of Singapore civil divorces because proving it under the legal framework is harder than using other grounds such as unreasonable behaviour.
In 2025, 48.7% of civil divorces in Singapore cited unreasonable behaviour, while adultery accounted for just 0.9% of civil divorces. Lawyers say this gap reflects how the law is structured and the evidence required, rather than indicating that fewer marriages end because of infidelity.
Adultery requires a higher evidential burden in civil divorce
Under Singapore’s Women’s Charter, a civil divorce must be supported by proving an irretrievable breakdown of marriage using one of six legal facts, including adultery. Lawyers interviewed point out that adultery typically needs compelling evidence, often circumstantial proof such as reports from private investigators or photographs showing a sexual relationship with a third party. That higher evidential threshold makes adultery harder to establish in practice.
Unreasonable behaviour is broader and easier to prove
Unreasonable behaviour is a broader legal category that can cover a wide range of conduct. Lawyers cited examples including abuse, controlling behaviour, addiction, gambling, financial neglect, and extra-marital affairs. Because it is simpler to fit many patterns of conduct into a legal fact, it became the most commonly used basis in 2025 civil divorces.
Divorce by mutual agreement became available in 2024 and changed how legal facts are chosen
Divorce by mutual agreement, introduced on July 1, 2024, became the third most commonly cited legal fact in 2025. Lawyers said this option reduces confrontation by letting couples jointly acknowledge that the marriage has broken down without having to frame the divorce around allegations such as unreasonable behaviour against the other spouse. In that setting, the need to rely on adultery as a legal fact is reduced for couples who can agree.
The contrast with Muslim divorce statistics does not automatically mean adultery is rarer
The civil figures are also contrasted with Muslim divorce statistics, where infidelity was cited as the main issue in 18.4% of cases. Lawyers said this difference reflects the distinct legal frameworks for civil and Muslim divorces, and that Muslim divorce statistics record the reason given for the marriage breaking down, rather than requiring adultery to be proved as a legal fact in the same way. That distinction helps explain why civil divorces may show a much lower adultery share even when infidelity plays a role in breakdowns.

Reading history

Hide →

This history is cleared when the page is closed.

Why is adultery cited in less than 1% of civil divorces?

Loading

Was this article helpful?

Helpful

Not helpful

Report an issue

1

0

0

Share with friends