Both men and women can become mesuravei/mesuravot get.Due to factors that are halachic, sociological, psychological, and even biological, in Israel, there are many more women than men whose spouses refuse a get.The halacha provides more simple solutions for men to avoid the problem of sarvanut get, and even permits a man without a get to create a new family without concern that his children will be mamzerim. Every couple entering into divorce proceedings with the rabbinic courts knows that the man has the upper hand.
This imbalance is embedded not only in the halacha, but also in the socioeconomic tendencies of the community.The woman, who in most cases continues to care for the children after divorce even though she earns less than her ex-husband, is consistently deprived of her fair share in the property divisions that typically follow divorce proceedings.Often, the woman desires to remarry and create a new family while she is still young, without concern for mamzerut, and she desires this much more strongly than her husband does.In many societies - both religious and secular - is considered far more problematic than that of her husband. Property divisions for couples that were married after January 1, 1974, are performed according to "hok yahasei mammon," which states that at the moment of a marriage's termination - and not before - a couple's fund are divided equally between the two parties.
Because this cannot be carried out before the official date of divorce (unless the family court establishes an exceptional provision in a particular case that it be done), mesuravot get must wait to collect her share of the property until she receives her get.As has already been explained, this can take months, even years.In addition, many couples formally register their property (car, apartment, etc) under the husband's name, because in Israel the husband's salary is much greater on average than his wife's salary, being that she most often cares for the children. Thus, in most cases it is the woman who loses out because the division of property is delayed, and this becomes just another reason for her to compromise and relinquish her share of property in exchange for a get.
It must be emphasized that one of the greatest casualties of sarvanut get is the children's well-being. In almost every case of divorce, the children are adversely affected both mentally and financially from the breakdown of their family.In the event of sarvanut get, the process only grows longer and uglier, with more arguments; the children and their needs too often become pawns in the argument, all the while feeling the tension and suffering grow between their parents.
The problem of sarvanut get exists in Israel among Jews of every ethnicity. Both Haredim and secular Israelis who made a point of getting married in Cyprus are equally concerned about the stigma of mamzerut.There is a correlation between domestic violence during a marriage and sarvanut get at its termination: a man who perpetually tries to dominate his wife often sees in the get one final way to control her and withhold her freedom.However, not every sarvan get was an abusive husband; unfortunately, the system is designed such that men can exploit the get as a bargaining chip, and there are lawyers that never fail to emphasize this fact, and even encourage their male clients to exploit their power.
During a time of crisis in a relationship, each person is prone to act in ways that are uncharacteristic and unexpected, even to themselves. Sarvanut get exists among both religious and secular Jews, in every ethnic group and every socioeconomic bracket; among couples that married at a young age and those that married later in life; among those who hardly knew each other before marriage and those who lived together beforehand; among those who separated only a few days after marriage and those who spent many joyful years together before things fell apart. Sarvanut get can persist for days, weeks, months, years, even decades. At times it ends with a simple agreement, and at times it ends only with threats and sanctions; sometimes, only death separates the sarvan from his prisoner.