NZFVC Issues Paper, no. 15, October 2019

Key Messages: Prior to colonisation Māori people lived within whānau, hapū and iwi collectives that supported wellbeing, with whānau as the primary source of support within Māori society; Traditional knowledge forms within tikanga, te reo and mātauranga Māori provide clear guidance for wellbeing and appropriate behaviours within relationships; It is well documented that acts of whānau violence were not accepted by our ancestors; Central to the colonisation of Aotearoa (New Zealand) is the dispossession of land and resources of whānau, hapū and iwi; The position, and wellbeing of Māori women and children is central to ensuring the wellbeing of whānau; In Aotearoa, colonisation is characterised by extensive acts of violence upon Māori; Colonial ideologies and practices of gender, race and class that have been imported to Aotearoa have impacted significantly in the undermining of Māori structures, beliefs and ways of living; Colonisation is both a series of events and an ongoing system of oppression that has disrupted may aspects of Māori social structures and ways of being; Understanding both the impact of colonisation and Historical trauma is critical to understanding the origins of family violence in Aotearoa. (Authors' key messages). Record #6418