15 warning signs your marriage is in trouble, and what Tunisian law offers

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Topic: Family law

Fifteen signs a marriage is in trouble, and what Tunisian law offers when it turns serious: conciliation, protection from violence, divorce.

Every marriage goes through hard times, but some signs keep coming back until they point to a real crisis. Spotting them early lets you act in time: by talking, by asking for help, or by protecting yourself and your children when needed. The fifteen signs You no longer want to spend time together. Every discussion turns into a fight, or there is no discussion at all. Contempt, mockery and insults have become part of daily life. You feel anxious or afraid before your spouse comes home. Secrets and repeated lies, about money or about relationships. Money is a constant source of conflict, or one of you refuses to provide for the family. One of you controls the other's income or stops them from working. Constant monitoring of phone, movements and friendships. You are being cut off from family and friends. No physical or emotional closeness for a long time. Important decisions are made by one spouse alone. The extended family keeps interfering in your life. An addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling. You picture your future without your spouse. Threats, pushing or hitting, even once. Many of these signs can be worked on through dialogue or with a marriage counsellor. But the last ones, and violence above all, should not wait. When it becomes violence Organic Law No. 2017-58 on the elimination of violence against women defines violence broadly: physical, moral, sexual and economic. Depriving a woman of resources, controlling her wages or forbidding her to work can amount to economic violence. Specialised units: in every governorate, the national police and the national guard have units specialised in violence against women, which must inform the victim of her rights. Protection order: the victim can ask the family judge for a protection order, which can bar the abuser from contacting her and the children, require him to leave the home where there is danger, settle custody and visiting, or set maintenance. It lasts at most six months, renewable once. Failure to provide for the family Supporting one's wife and children is a legal duty under the Personal Status Code. A person ordered to pay maintenance who deliberately fails to pay for a month is prosecuted for abandonment of family; paying ends the prosecution. Conciliation or divorce If one spouse files for divorce, whether by mutual consent, for harm or by unilateral will, the family judge first tries to reconcile them and may, with their agreement, be assisted by a family conciliator. The judge also orders urgent measures on housing, maintenance, custody and visiting until the judgment. Do not stay alone Talk to someone you trust, and keep anything that can prove what you are going through: medical certificates, messages, witnesses. See a lawyer to understand the options that fit your situation before making a decision. This article gives general information and does not replace advice from a lawyer who looks at your own situation.

Last updated: 30 October 2026