Māori justice advocate Awatea Mita says a new report shows power imbalance and neglect baked into the prison system leaves wāhine Māori vulnerable to sexual abuse, discrimination and violations of human rights.
Aotearoa Justice Watch, which includes People Against Prisons Aotearoa, Amnesty International, JustSpeak and the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties, prepared the report based on 62 anonymous submissions from incarcerated wāhine received between June 2022 and March 2024.
They show patterns of unsafe guards, poor living conditions, poor treatment of sick inmates and a complaints system that seems corrupt.
She says what’s missing are whānau based solutions to reduce harm.
“They talk about police and prisons being the front line but that’s not true. Our uncles, our nannies, our uncles, our parents, our cousina, they’re the front line, they’re the ones dealing with the day to day issues in our society,” Ms Mita says.
