Our voices lead the way on family violence response

Disabled voices are leading the way to find solutions and address the systemic roots of family and sexual violence. Two recent studies model this community-led approach. 

In Aotearoa, people with disabilities are overrepresented as victims of sexual and family violence, with Māori and low income groups further overrepresented. In the past, the intersection of disability and family violence in Aotearoa has never been closely scrutinised. But this year, there’s been progress. 

Researchers affiliated with Massey University’s CARE Centre in New Zealand have explored how a culture-centred approach can inform family violence prevention. 

What makes this study particularly valuable is that it was co-designed by community advisory groups and drew from 77 interviews with predominantly Māori and low-income disabled people to explore the systemic roots of violence and how community could lead the way forward. 

A culture-centred approach means putting community voices at the centre. Rather than researchers or institutions defining problems and solutions, it prioritised local, lived experiences, particularly from those living in the margins. 

Research lead Mohan Dutta said centring community voice is a step towards justice and equity in Aotearoa: “This work underscores the power of listening to disabled communities, particularly attending to voices that are systematically disenfranchised, to co-create meaningful interventions that challenge structural violence.”

The interviewees identified intrinsic links between violence and colonialism, and how cultural and familial taboos and dependence on abusers enabled violence. For Māori, the violence is amplified by the undermining of tino rangatiratanga and the systemic erasure of Māori knowledge. 

For example, a Māori participant, Geoff, suspected a family member was stealing his pain medication but felt unable to confront them because they were doing their best to provide for the family and assist him in his transportation and care. While he is empathetic to this family member who may be abusing him, there are intersecting factors that make it difficult for Geoff to seek formal support:

“He is unable to work with his disability, so he survives on a sickness benefit; he chooses to live rurally on Māori land, but the housing is overcrowded with inadequate facilities; his family members try to support him with transport to medical appointments in the city, yet this impedes his independence, and they only have one vehicle; he needs physiotherapy at the hospital as a result of his leg amputation but feels the healthcare sector is racist against Māori...”

Many interviewees besides Geoff expressed mistrust of state-run providers and found violence-prevention services absent or inaccessible, whether physically or by lack of cultural competency, especially for non-English speakers or those unfamiliar with bureaucratic processes. 

These kōrero established that it is up to the community to dismantle the unspoken nature of violence within communities. Since they found that silence and erasure perpetuates the continuation of violence, participants expressed the need for community discussions about violence.

Where disability and violence sectors collaborate

Another study, conducted by Donald Beasley Institute (DBI), is on developing a twin track response to violence against wāhine whaikaha, D/deaf and disabled women. Though the study is yet to be published later this year, DBI presented findings to disabled communities online in July. 

Through kōrero with 24 wāhine whaikaha, eight kaupapa Māori service workers and more than 70 frontline workers, the researchers have built a framework that emphasises on accessible, culturally informed pathways that honour disabled women’s experience as experts. The work would help disability and violence sectors learn from each other and collaborate to respond to and reduce the impact of violence and abuse experienced by disabled people. 

Dr Huhana Hickey (Ngāti Tāhinga, Whakatōhea), who has been closely involved in the project, says the report represents the “first time we’ve actually had a serious look at what violence means to disabled and what’s in place or not in place for them.” 

“It gives us the evidence we need to go to the next level and advocate for implementation and access to services.” 

Some of the key findings include a lack of disability and family violence sector collaboration; lack of accessibility in the provision of services such as refuges; isolation as a precursor to violence; and positive outcomes linked to existing, trusted relationships. Notably, all participants preferred having access to mainstream violence response services rather than disability-specific services, indicating the need for universally designed response services. 

Gary Williams (Ngāti Porou), who has been a long time advocate on intersectoral issues, is interested in healing, redress and stopping repeated harm. He says the engagement of three sectors is important because people are not homogenous. “Experiences are unique, so responses need to be unique”

“The research validates what I’ve known for decades about disabled people who experience family and sexual violence,” says Williams. “I’m glad there was a particular focus on tangata whaikaha wahine because their worldviews aren’t considered often enough.”

“We have a long way to improve the safety of tangata whaikaha Māori because there are many interrelated things that make us unsafe, as the research notes.” 

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