According to INS data analyzed by HotNews.ro, up to 20 years of partnership (or peaceful unions) last less than 3 years on average. Young people aged 20-24 stay together for about 4 years on average, and couples over 30 who have been married for more than 30 years stay together for more than 7 years.

According to data provided by the statistics, the phenomenon of cohabitation – as the number of couples who prefer their first marriage – has a significant increase immediately after the period of high school education, around the age of 20 and the average age of marriage. (28-29 years) and a significant decrease after 50 years. In terms of duration, everything is as shown in the chart above

Several possible explanations

“Young people aged 20-24 have delayed or are delaying marriage, preferring to enter into a consensual relationship. They have this kind of relationship of consensual union or concubinage, as it was called in the past. It is certain that he is postponing his marriage for very different reasons,” Professor of Sociology Maria Voinea, a specialist in the sociology of the family, explains to HotNews.ro.

“Women first want to make a career, realize themselves professionally. Secondly, women want to experience more social statuses, more roles, avoiding entering too early into the relationship of wife and mother. Therefore, they postpone both marriage and the conception of the first child. This leads to the fact that the age of marriage exceeds 30 years, and sometimes children appear at around 34-35 years old,” says Professor Maria Voynya.

Sociologist: So, we have no reservations about the institution of marriage, only that some parameters have changed

As for young people, the sociologist says that it is not surprising that we are facing “stationarity” in the marriage plan of the age group under 25, but not excluding that after some time they will also get married. “That is, it is not a rejection of marriage, but a postponement of this step. You have to keep in mind that Romanians still have a tendency to marry, we have a higher marriage rate than the European average; in Europe, the average is about 5 ‰, and here it is 6.5 ‰!. So, we have no reservations about the institution of marriage, only that some parameters have changed: the age for entering into the first marriage has changed and, of course, premarital experience is first of all preferred,” says Professor Maria Voineya.

The Romanian Patriarchate, “like other Orthodox churches”, constantly does not approve of the promotion of the idea of ​​civil partnership.

The Romanian Patriarchate, “like other Orthodox Churches”, constantly disapproves of the promotion of the idea of ​​civil partnership, as well as its legislation, claiming that civil partnership “represents not only an unnecessary coincidence with the valid institution of marriage, but also a real undermining of the acceptance of responsibility by inalienable parts of both spouses, as well as a toxic source (proven in other societies) of the disintegration of the importance and morally formative authority of the family,” said Vasile Benescu, a spokesman for the Patriarchate, in a recent message.

Researcher: We talk about “cohabitation” as a premarital state, not an alternative to marriage

The frequency of data reported by Statistics shows “cohabitation” as a pre-marital state rather than an alternative to marriage, researcher Julian Apostu explains in an article analyzing previous census data.

We can talk about an attitude that appears not against marriage, but as a manifestation before it, for various different motivations (the subjects are too young or too old, building a career before marriage, a short period of mutual acquaintance, etc.), says , I bet.

As for the share of the female population over the age of 11, the situation with consensual marriages differs significantly in different districts.

Below are the countries where the majority of women (by weight) prefer cohabitation, partnership:

In most countries that legalized civil partnerships, about 20 years passed from the first legislative proposal to the actual legalization, although the social manifestations associated with the desire for legalization were even greater. No European country has legalized a consensual union without a strong public reaction, explains Julian Apostu.

Denmark was the first country in Europe to legalize a consensual union. The interaction between the state and society began to bear fruit in 1968, as the Socialist Party proposed a number of legislative changes, including those affecting marriage and homosexual couples. And, because social resistance was strong, a new commission for “cohabitation without marriage” was created to deal with the legal difficulties of cohabitation. Later, consensual unions were legalized by other states.

HotNews recently spoke with Julian Apostu about the changes in Romanian society. Previously, the choice of a spouse was subject to certain social control, especially by the family group. Today, new trends are reconstructing the idea of ​​intimacy, and in this sense, social networking sites and sites acquaintance it gives a person the opportunity to no longer conform to the culture in which they were raised and socialized, says the sociology professor and researcher.

Among the ideas touched upon during the discussion:

• The culture in which we were created is the culture in which our parents, grandparents and grandparents established themselves. It no longer fully corresponds to the wishes, needs or ideals of young people

• First, it was illogical that young people said they wanted to learn about sexuality from their own parents, but they refused to talk or were taught ideas of danger, taboo and vulnerability. The next step was to study pornography

• The younger generation is more and more inclined to believe that “if I am not happy, then I cannot bring happiness to others.” Old theories about the function of solidarity are established for many young couples.

• Society is constantly changing its codes of behavior and functionality, and people calculate their relationships based on personal fulfillment. The regime of property division forces you to be careful while declaring your trust to sign the marriage certificate.

• Women take on a far greater set of traditional tasks than their own partners require of them. Undoubtedly, modernity is primarily demanded by women

• The idea of ​​relational individualism can be seen even in Romanian legislation. The mode of division of property shows the tendency of young couples to protect their property in relation to the other from the first moment of marriage.

• About the social/demographic consequences of these changes (delaying the decision to marry, having children…

Read the full discussion here