want to do something for them, not with them. Their heart's in the right place but actually
it's not going to change if we don't change the system of how we do things. (Provider)
5.1.2.
Health
Health systems, support, information and interpretation services were not
considered accessible for all. Differential treatment and fewer healthcare options
offered to Māori and tauiwi were also noted as examples of racism in the healthcare
system.
My mum was terminally ill and because she was not a New Zealand citizen, we paid close
to a $1000 a night…not one [health professional] had referred us to palliative care. (PanPacific focus group)
A lot of [migrants] are coming from countries where English isn’t the majority language,
and we have a very English dominated language system so that is a huge struggle for
them. Translation services aren’t offered at all at GP services, and you often don’t find
resources translated. (Te Ika ā Māui Māori focus group)
Māori and Pacific participants also highlighted examples of racism in inequitable
health outcomes and mortality rates as well as targeted investigations of
whānau/families for suspected child abuse cases.
When we have cases of non-accidental injuries where a child has been hurt not by
accident and if you compare a Pacific or Māori family turning up with their child with a
white family coming in…with the same issue, they will automatically look into the brown
child's injuries…They dig deeper, they investigate. So, they're [more] judgemental towards
the brown [family]. (Kiribati focus group)
5.1.3.
Housing
Tauiwi participants provided examples of Pacific families facing additional challenges
and/or being refused rental accommodation, delayed service and access to
entitlements, and Asian social housing tenants being threatened and bullied.
...As soon as they heard my voice, they said the house was taken. But [we] had [our]
friends ring [the landlords] for the same house. It's still available. (Indian focus group)
We have so many complaints from Chinese elderly people who are living in state houses.
In their state house community, there is lots of bullying and physical abuse. They smash
the windows, threaten them because the Chinese elderly people like gardening, growing
different types of vegetables. (Provider)
5.1.4.
Employment (jobs and earnings)
Participants described experiences of institutionalised and systemic racism through:
Unfair employee recruitment and selection processes: Recruitment panel processes
and job seek algorithms that filtered potential employees by name, appearance and
other physical features resulted in lost employment opportunities for tauiwi
populations.
www.malatest-intl.com
Drivers of racism – March 2021
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