•
people in the rainbow community
•
people who live in residential services
where their autonomy and choices are
limited
•
disabled people who have less access to
education, employment and sufficient
income than non-disabled people.
Disabled people experience significant
socioeconomic marginalisation
Disabled people experience inequities in
access to housing, employment, education and
income. Reduced choices and standards of
living create risk.
Explaining violence and abuse against disabled people and
tāngata whaikaha Māori
Violence towards disabled people and
tāngata whaikaha Māori takes many forms
Violence against disabled people, tāngata
whaikaha Māori, Deaf and adults at risk can
be physical, sexual, emotional, financial and
coercive control. Other forms of violence are
also more commonly experienced by disabled
people and adults at risk, or are specific to
disabled people’s circumstances. Abusers can be
family members and friends, carers and support
people, and acquaintances and strangers in the
wider community.
Some groups such as Māori, women, people
with learning impairments, people experiencing
psycho-social distress, children, and gender
diverse people can face multiple and
intersecting risks.
Disabled people face many barriers to
accessing services and support to stop
violence
Tāngata whaikaha Māori and disabled people
encounter significant barriers to reporting abuse
and stopping violence when it occurs. These
barriers include:
•
caregivers/support people may be the
abusers
•
the devaluing of disabled people
•
being silenced
•
not being believed
•
credibility being questioned or undermined
when trying to disclose violence and abuse
•
societal and particularly police attitudes
towards disabled people
•
negative consequences for reporting
•
normalisation of abuse
•
collusion within services to deny or dismiss
disclosures.
Abusive ideologies and structural risks
requiring a twin track response
Ableism, socioeconomic disparities and
stigma and discrimination experienced by
tāngata whaikaha Māori and disabled people
pose greater risks. Even so, Aotearoa has no
specialised sexual or family violence services
for disabled people that respond to these
risks. If mainstream services are physically
accessible, they rarely have staff with knowledge
of disability-specific issues. Although Māori
bear a disproportionate burden of violence,
few kaupapa Māori sexual or family violence
services exist. This demonstrates a lack of Tiriti
partnership. There is also no information about
the accessibility of the services that do exist.
Abusive ideologies reinforce power imbalances
and increase the likelihood of experiencing
exploitation and abuse. These ideologies
include indifference towards disabled people,
perceptions that disabled people are easy
targets, and a lack of accountability.
Many structural factors increase the risk of
violence and reduce disabled people’s options
to escape abuse. These include the denial of
people’s rights, the silencing of people’s voice,
a lack of accessible housing, lack of accessible
information and reliance on others for support.
Acting now for a violence and abuse free future
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