E Tū Wāhine, E Tū Whānau: Wāhine Māori Keeping Safe in Unsafe Relationships

Abstract

[From Introduction] Family violence is an area where people are oftentimes quick to judge, often blaming its victims, especially if they are wāhine Māori (Māori women). Such perceptions do little to constructively help wāhine and tamariki (Māori children) who need it most. Instead such responses further isolate them from the supports they need the most at times when they have exhausted their strategies for keeping themselves and their tamariki safe. Furthermore, negative and unhelpful perceptions reinforce to wāhine that the very system designed to help those who are living with violence in their whānau (extended family network) is not there to help them because they are Māori. Wāhine compared to other groups of women living in Aotearoa are more likely to bear the harmful consequences of violence, including being the victims of homicide (Ministry of Health, 2015; NZ Family Violence Death Review Committee, 2017).