New Zealand exempts abuse victims from 2-year wait before they can seek divorce

Victims of domestic violence in New Zealand will be allowed to cut ties to abusive spouses more quickly after lawmakers unanimously voted on Wednesday to exempt them from a mandatory two-year separation period before divorce can be sought.

The required cooling-off period before a couple in New Zealand can file for divorce – during which they must also live apart – is the longest among no-fault divorce laws in comparable countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada and most states in the US.

Wednesday’s change means a victim of domestic violence can seek dissolution of their marriage or civil partnership as soon as a protection order against their spouse is granted. Lawmakers said in speeches at parliament in the capital, Wellington, that some survivors had told them the long reflection period made leaving an abusive relationship difficult and increased the chance they would return to a violent partner.

“Two years holds the tie. It binds the victim to their abuser,” said Deborah Russell, the lawmaker who sponsored the bill. “That should not be the case.”

All 123 members of parliament voted for the change, in a rare show of political unity.

Lawmakers cited New Zealand’s domestic violence figures, which are widely considered one of the country’s most entrenched and thorny social problems. Police figures for the year to June 2023 recorded more than 177,000 family harm investigations in the country of 5 million people, a 49 per cent increase since 2017.