A divorce law petitioner is slamming New Zealand's "backwards" legislation as not having the victims of physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse at heart.
It currently takes two years to legally finalise a divorce in New Zealand.
But Ashley Young this morning told Breakfast two years is too long.
She will today hand a petition, which has gained more than 5300 signatures, to Parliament, with hopes to change divorce laws so abuse victims can be free of their abuser.
"As someone that did experience abuse, being mindful that here in New Zealand we see physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual abuse, sexual abuse all as illegal, I just kind of have been through a system that I have been up against so many hurdles and it just didn't feel like it had my best interests, my mental health at heart," Young said.
"It's been a long 18 months, and abuse is founded on power and control and currently this system allows that to continue."
“Abuse is founded on power and control and currently this system allows that to continue.
Young said the emotional cost for her had been "huge".
"In my case, a huge part of it for me is 18 months where my ex-husband's refused to engage properly with legal proceedings so I could get a separation so I've been servicing relationship debts solely by myself and that is a huge control over me and my life and me trying to build a new life for myself.
"Obviously to get to the point of leaving a relationship it takes so much. I moved towns, I moved islands to get away and then having that emotional burden of knowing that he's still having that chance to have control every time he failed to engage it just really messes with you because you're in this constant state of limbo."
However, Young is not the only one.
She told Breakfast she couldn't sit back and and not let change happen, so she decided to start a petition and has since heard the stories of many others battling the system like herself.
"It's just been so humbling to realise that I truly am being the voice for so many people that are still too scared to speak up, that still don't feel like they have a voice or they just feel like the system doesn't care because it's how it's always been.
"Most people have just kind of looked at me and said 'what? That's our law?' And it comes back to the fact that our law hasn't changed for many years," she said.
"It's still quite backwards compared to all the countries overseas that have brought in exceptions for those that are victims of abuse."
Earlier in the month, leading divorce lawyer Lady Deborah Chambers also told Breakfast the laws are out of date.
She compared New Zealand with Australia, which couples have one year to finalise a divorce, and agrees with Young's point about abuse.
"Why on earth do you need two years to reflect on whether or not you want to end a marriage to an abusive partner?" she asked.
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