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Does the Domestic Violence Act discriminate against Māori?
Resource type
Author/contributor
- Hook, Gary E. R. (Author)
Title
Does the Domestic Violence Act discriminate against Māori?
Abstract
Attempts to establish a measure of Māori domestic violence over the last 27 years by using data from the Statistics New Zealand database, looking at the records concerning only convictions for violent crimes. Seeks to get a picture of just how serious Māori domestic violence is compared with that of the Pākehā. Considers the role of unemployment and the influence of government policy and legislation. Suggests the possibility of discriminatory application of the law against Māori by the courts that deal with domestic violence issues. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Publication
MAI review
Date
2009
Volume
7
Issue
1
ISSN
1177-5904
Language
eng
Library Catalog
Notes
- The validity of ethnic identifications is also important. Ethnicities self-identified within census data may differ from that which appears in crime statistics because the police may base their identification of people entirely on how they interpret the appearance of an individual (Statistics New Zealand, 2005).
- This study confirms the disparities between Māori and Pākehā in the arena of domestic violence and highlights the ever-widening gap between the two cultures. Unfortunately, it must also be concluded that the policies instigated by government to contain domestic violence are not working, because Māori domestic violence is at an all-time high, accounting for most of the convictions, and still rising. In addition, the evidence suggests that some of the problem might lie with discriminatory applications of the law resulting in higher conviction rates for Māori than for Pākehā.
Citation
Hook, G. E. R. (2009). Does the Domestic Violence Act discriminate against Māori? MAI Review, 7(1).
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