August 15, 2023
Survey reveals widespread violence
A national survey conducted as part of a project looking at Māori cultural frameworks for violence prevention and intervention has found four out of five respondents said state or systemic violence had impacted on their wellbeing.
Just over 1700 respondents completed He Waka Eke Noa survey, which was run by Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki.
Seventy eight percent identified as female, 17 percent were male, and 4.2 percent non-binary.
Around two-thirds of participants had experienced sexual violence, and almost 9 had seen or witnessed physical violence in their lifetime.
Over 70 percent had experienced abuse or abuse of power from WINZ, the education system, the health system, the police, and the justice system, and over 80 percent had experienced racism from the same agencies.
Almost 60 percent of respondents or their whānau had experienced police violence in their lives.
The majority of respondents said they did things to minimise violence in their life, including setting safe boundaries, vigilance, counselling and therapy, developing strong positive relationships, advocacy and education, focus on health, and connection to te Ao Māori.