not include Māori with lived experience of disability. Where Crown organisations show responsiveness to people with lived experience of disability, this does not usually include Māori. In turn, this leads to a sense of Crown inaction when it comes to the health and well-being interests of Māori with lived experience of disability.84 Recognising the intersection of identities and experiences is crucial to ensuring responses are diverse and meet the needs of every individual. Violence and abuse tāngata whaikaha Māori face cannot be looked at from a traditional model of harm against disabled people, or harm against Indigenous people. It is both. A one-sizefits-all model fails to acknowledge and respond to the intersecting nature of indigeneity and disability. In its Hauora report the Tribunal recognised that where there are severe and persistent inequities, the Government’s Tiriti obligations are heightened.85 The deeper the need, the more urgent and substantial a targeted response should be. The cumulative disadvantage and discrimination, marginalisation, and inequities tāngata whaikaha experience leave no doubt that the obligations on Government to take action and give these issues particular priority and urgency, are heightened. The intergenerational impacts of violence against tangata whaikaha The impact of violence and abuse against tāngata whaikaha Māori has ongoing, intergenerational impacts. Violence and abuse, accompanied by experiences of colonisation, racism, discrimination, ableism and other socioeconomic issues, compound disadvantage for tāngata whaikaha Māori. The Te Hau Tangata strategy recognises that unresolved trauma impacts successive generations. The strategy notes: “Exposure to, and experience of violence has long-term and complex effects. This compounds with all other forms of trauma which, if left unaddressed, can have far reaching impacts on people’s wellbeing”.86 16 Human Rights Commission Colonisation should be understood as a contributor to the intergenerational transmission of trauma.87 The trauma of colonisation continues to impact successive generations of Māori who experience disproportionate rates of violence, alongside racism, discrimination and other negative effects. Tāngata whaikaha Māori feel trauma in distinct ways linked to these experiences. As was noted by the Family Death Violence Review Committee: “The historical and ongoing impact of colonisation, which includes unchecked privilege, and how colonisation contributes to chronic and complex trauma for both individuals and communities ... are central reasons why Māori and non-Māori experience violence across generations”.88 Colonisation and the dislocation that accompanied it, caused many tāngata whaikaha Māori to become disconnected from their whānau. This disconnect occurred for several reasons including institutionalisation, abuse and violence, drug and alcohol abuse, adoption, and removal by Oranga Tamariki. This displacement was abusive, and today continues to contribute to the possibility of abuse.89 Not only is it alarming that rates of violence are higher for tāngata whaikaha Māori, but the flow-on effects for generations of Māori are immeasurable. Exposure to violence leads to feelings of helplessness, intergenerational trauma, loss of identity, and fear. Violence creates intergenerational risks that children who witness or experience violence will go on to become involved in violence in adulthood.90 Because of the collective nature of Māori society, not only is the harm inflicted on tangata whaikaha Māori individuals problematic, but the wider whānau of that individual is also affected. Tāngata whaikaha Māori are often best supported by their whānau, notwithstanding that lack of government support and services often means these responsibilities and duties must fall on whānau. It is therefore imperative that whānau receive and have access to support as well.