Pasifika women affected by domestic violence: The case of Teuila

Abstract

Domestic violence is a pervasive social issue in New Zealand, with the majority of victims being women and children. In 2008, the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey found that one in five Pasifika had experienced violence at the hands of their partner in the previous year.2 Six years later the results of the same survey reported a 19 per cent decrease of intimate partner violence among Pasifika. Despite this reduction, domestic violence is still prevalent in Pasifika communities. Women in general are known to have low rates of accessing the services available to assist them in navigating themselves and their children to safety, and Pasifika women, with even fewer social and economic resources than other women, are thus left in an even more precarious position. The research presented in this chapter focuses on identifying the barriers and supports women encounter when they attempt to access external agency support to gain protection from their abusers in order to deal with the impacts of abuse.