Post-divorce experiences of women in the Cape Coast metropolis

Abstract

Divorce has been one area of nuptiality that has attracted little attention in Ghana. This study sought to investigate the multiple experiences of divorce on divorced women. This study was approached from a phenomenological and interpretivist paradigm using the lived experiences of women as sources of knowledge. Divorce and impact literature provided a theoretical framework for understanding the phenomenon as well as the issues related to post-divorce experiences in the Cape Coast metropolis and the effective coping strategies the women adopted to enable them survive in the patriarchal societies they found themselves. Twenty-five divorced women with diverse backgrounds were selected purposively through snowball technique for interviewed using an unstructured interview guide. The participants discussed their perspectives on divorce and post-divorce financial encounters, their experiences with faith groups, friends and family, as well as the surviving strategies they adopted following the divorce. The study revealed that, contrary to what the literature says, majority of the women were financially stable after divorce. Further, most of them were able to cope after the divorce because of the little support they received from faith groups, friends and family members, though some were neglected by these same groups of people. Most of them also became more religious after the divorce. It was recommended that, women should be active both in the formal and informal sectors for a better financial experience post-divorce. Again, faith groups, friends and families should support and encourage divorced members regardless of the cause or reason for the divorce.