AN ACCEPTING EUROPE
An accepting Europe A
CROSS EUROPE PEOPLE’S experiences of relationships are changing: cohabitation, either as a precursor or as an alternative to marriage, is increasingly
common; a growing number of countries have now legalised same-sex marriage or civil unions; and among heterosexual couples the persistence of traditional gender roles in the home is coming under scrutiny as women’s participation in the labour force continues to rise. But the prevalence of these changes and the
extent to which they have gained acceptance in society continues to vary significantly across countries. Research using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), collected over the last ten years in more than 30 countries, sheds light on Europe’s evolving social and moral fabric. It demonstrates how people’s experiences of and attitudes towards
“ Division of household labour
between the sexes is most unequal in southern Europe
relationships continue to be shaped by enduring differences in countries’ culture, history and institutional and legal frameworks. The ESS finds, for example, that whereas only three per cent of people in Sweden say they disapprove of the decision to live with a partner without being married, in Ukraine a majority of people (54 per cent) do so. Research by Dutch scholars Judith Soons and Matthijs Kalmijn suggests that such attitudes matter; the value climate surrounding cohabitation can have a direct effect on the wellbeing of cohabiting couples. Using ESS data collected between 2002/03 and 2006/07 they show that, across Europe, married people tend to have higher wellbeing, ie, to be happier and feel more satisfied with their lives than people who are cohabiting. This remains the case even after controlling for differences in the background characteristics of married and cohabiting couples. The size of the wellbeing advantage associated
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with being married varies significantly across Europe. Cohabitation has the greatest negative effect on wellbeing in Central and Eastern European countries such as Romania and Bulgaria. In contrast, in a number of countries, including the Netherlands and Norway, wellbeing is as high among cohabiting couples as it is
18 SOCIETY NOW AUTUMN 2013
Research using data from the European Social Survey finds wellbeing in relationships and public acceptance of non-traditional relationships vary greatly across Europe
among married couples. Soons and Kalmijn demonstrate that the wellbeing gap between marriage and cohabitation varies in line with prevailing social norms; it is smaller in countries where cohabitation is more common and where fewer people disapprove of cohabitation. Attitudes towards homosexuality also vary significantly across counties. The ESS regularly asks people how far they agree or disagree with the statement that ‘Gay men and lesbians should be free to live their own lives as the wish.’ Agreement with this statement has increased over the last ten years in most western European countries. But there is less evidence of change across central and eastern Europe where acceptance of homosexuality remains low. One factor driving the change in attitudes in
many countries may be the decision to legalise civil partnerships and/or same-sex marriage. It is notable that those countries which are most accepting of homosexuality, including the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, were among the early adopters of civil partnerships and have since legalised same-sex marriage. Acceptance is also high – and has grown most rapidly – in countries such as the UK and Spain which have more recently legalised same-sex partnerships. In contrast, in countries such as Slovakia, Estonia and Ukraine where no such legal recognition exists, attitudes towards homosexuality remain largely negative and, in some cases, have become increasingly so in recent years. These findings
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