Māori survey finds four out of five of respondents say state or systemic violence impacted their wellbeing

Four out of five Māori respondents say state and or systematic abuse has impacted their wellbeing. Photo / RNZ

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 their wellbeing.

Just over 1700 respondents completed He Waka Eke Noa survey, which was run by Tū Tama Wāhine o Taranaki.

The survey aimed to gather perspectives from those who identify as Māori (either sole, or as one of their ethnic identities), and had Māori ancestry, were aged 18 or over and lived in Aotearoa at the time of the survey.

Seventy eight per cent identified as female, 17 per cent were male, and 4.2 percent non-binary.

Around two-thirds of participants had experienced sexual violence, and almost 90 per cent had seen or witnessed physical violence in their lifetime.

Over 70 per cent had experienced abuse or abuse of power from Winz (now Work and Income) or the education system, the health system, the police, and the justice system, and over 80 per cent had experienced racism from the same agencies.

Almost 60 per cent 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, focusing on health, and connection to te Ao Māori.

Waatea.News.Com