Adultery can be tragic

STORIES of adultery, fornication and general infidelity have dominated the media — both mainstream and social media.

Some of the consequences have been tragic with lovers or marriage mates even killing in the name of love.

Men have been very ill-behaved in our society when it comes to staying true to their marriage vows.

Whilst adultery is widespread — even with married women — it is men who have been prominent in instigating it.

Adultery may be defined as voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. In law, both the married person and the lover are adulterers and both can pay for having that affair against the law.

Research has shown that divorce has far-reaching, long-lasting effects, both on the personal lives and well being of women who get divorced and on society as a whole. Many studies have concluded that divorce affects women more powerfully and more negatively than it affects men, personally, emotionally and financially.

Women, not that this makes their adultery any better, are often reactionary adulterers. They often fall into the sin after they and their children have been neglected by their husbands or they have an abusive husband who is not only violent but also fails to cater for his family’s needs.

However, the fact that women are pushed into adultery does not make their extramarital affair any less grievous as sins.

But if the factors that push women into adultery are dealt with, women can stay faithful to their husbands even till death. If husbands stop cheating and become responsible fathers no woman will ever be adulterous.

Having an affair with someone’s husband or wife should be a crime, especially if the person is married under Chapter 5:11.

While men have been blamed for not sticking to their marriage vows and having affairs that destroy their relationship, it should be noted that they need a female to commit this sin.

So both parties must be blamed for the collapse of the marriage unless the married party lies about their marital status.

However, most people in affairs with married people actually know that their “partners” are married and some try their level best to snatch the husband or wife from their spouses.

That is immoral and activists must preach this to the masses and seek to have the perpetrators punished by law, whether financially or through any other way.

Something must be done to guard against the spread of HIV and AIDS and also the agony that victims of divorce can suffer.

Children are increasingly growing up in abusive split families because of the ever-increasing rate of divorce. They are forced to grow up with a step parent who does not cater for their needs as their biological parent would have done.