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Appendix E

A selection of Mäori women’s comments

ROHE 1

Access to legal information

“There is no-one to tell you of your rights. There is a lack of advisers. In [one small town] no-one comes except the police. There is no other help available.”

“Mäori women are wanting to stay in their communities. They do not want to move to [the main centre] to access services.”

“Isolation and the access to services is a big problem out there. The distance between the communities where the women live and the police is too long for help. By the time the police get to them, they have been beaten to a pulp. So isolation plays a big part of the law being ineffective.”

“Lawyers cost too much so we don’t go and get help.”

“No thought is given to the support systems of people appearing before the court.”

“The court processes are insensitive to the needs of Mäori.”

“There needs to be a centralisation of information – a one stop help shop.”

“The culture of court and the culture of us Mäori. The separation of our women from our whänau again is a breach of our culture. Päkehä women encourage us to separate ourselves from whänau. The legal system is a breach of our Treaty rights. The cost is not only a cost of money, it’s a cost of self-esteem, a cost of an ethnic group and it’s a cost of status of tangata whenua.”

“There is no protection and no real understanding of the lack of protection for women.”

Domestic Violence

“Mäori women are lacking confidence in the legal system which is not effectively doing what it promises to do.”

“We need a network of Mäori women to offer a safe place, that women know of.”

Family Court Co-Ordinators

“You know for the amount of Mäori people in this area, the services or lack of is shocking. The fact is that they know that the problems are here but they’re not putting the effort in to work with Mäori people. There is no effective partnership here between any government agency and Mäori.”

“Community corrections and the New Zealand Children and Young Persons Service referrals to Mäori support services are non-existent.”

Lawyers

“Women are not given enough information from the lawyers. Not enough energy is put into women by the lawyers, especially when the lawyers are appointed for the legal aid system.”

“Where do I go to? The yellow pages tell you nothing except that they are lawyers. The information in the telephone book does not tell us whether the lawyer is Mäori or a woman.”

“Women are trivialised not only by the legal system but by the lawyers too.”

“We need more Mäori women lawyers [here]. Someone who can understand where we come from as Mäori. Someone who we do not have to explain ourselves to.”

Legal Aid

“The money available for legal aid is used only to pay the lawyer’s fees. There is nothing in legal aid which allows for transport costs and childcare.”

“Quality representation for women and children is lacking.”

“Legal aid comes with strings attached. Legal aid seems to be just from one pocket of the legal system to another.”

Mäori women

“Mäori women are the pivotal point – the soul of Mäoridom and the whänau.”

“Too few men’s groups hook the men back into the traditional values and practices, for example, learning about the concept of whare tangata – the specialness of women; that women are sacred and her body is tapu.”

Police

“Women are often left feeling like they are the aggressors when they report their men for acts of violence.”

“New police officers who come to the community are pretty heavy. The ones who have been here for a while are the ones we look for.”

Sentencing

“Historical evidence of abuse is not taken into account when sentencing. The significance of a woman’s abuse in the past is trivialised.”

The Legal System

“Whänau concepts need to be acknowledged by the legal system.”

“Women need to be acknowledged as part of a whole whänau unit.”

“Don’t talk women, talk whänau. There are things specific to women but we must always bring it back to the whänau.”

ROHE 2

Access to Legal Information

“We just korero to people, or ask Citizens Advice Bureau and government departments for help with information.”

“We need to know our [legal] rights because we don’t know.”

“I would like the Law Commission to make the law accessible, friendly, so that everybody knows something about it before we walk through the doors.”

“Information is powerful and we need to get information out to our people so they actually know before they go to court. To use the radio station or media is necessary.”

“A couple of them are very young. One young worker was telling these women what to do. She has no children and she would have been only about 22 years of age at the most.”

Courts

“Court procedure has to be part of their legal advice to make them more aware of what is happening, otherwise you are creating barriers in communication between the woman and the system.”

“There are no waiting facilities available at the court-house. We have heaps of people waiting outside in the rain.”

“I keep worrying about our people pleading guilty. They don’t know any better and they’re too whakamä to ask. It pleases their lawyers. Sometimes our people take the easy way out.”

Family Group Conference

“The problem of where a family group conference is not working is because there is no support for the offenders. Often this happens. I believe that they have been systematically abused by many institutions. What are we to do about it?”

“I really believe they [FGC] are working quite well. They give the whänau a chance to talk. But we always have problems trying to get the whänau to come to the conference.”

“One conference I was involved in had Mäori protocol which was really important to me as Mäori. Everyone had a say and it all went to the best interest of the child. Even the child had a say. It was really a neat experience.”

“Some parents don’t care about their children, so some of them don’t even turn up.”

“There’s a lot of children out there who don’t have fathers, mother, aunties or grandparents who care.”

“Why send them back to the whänau which is dysfunctional? So usually our Mäori community services will pick them up.”

“I wanted to take the FGC back onto our marae. Because they are from our marae and our people know what is best for them.”

“Support services need to be culturally appropriate services. You can go into any Income Support Service and they will not know what tikanga is.”

Lawyers

“Only a Mäori can understand what Mäori go through. We need to connect with another Mäori woman. This is really important for us.”

“How do we choose a lawyer who will represent us well? We just don’t know who is the right lawyer for us. I rang a lawyer for help and the secretary said she would get him to ring me. He didn’t even bother to contact me.”

Mäori Community Services

“We work in well with Income Support Services and Children Young Persons Service, it’s a good relationship really”.

Mäori Family Counsellors

“I think it should be legislated that any Mäori woman or person who is being dealt with by the law should have access to Mäori counsellors immediately. It should be automatic. It should be national. There should be a leaflet and it must be accessible in every court in our land.”

Police

“We rang the police and they didn’t even come. Nobody helped us at that time. The police waited for everyone to leave before they came to help us.”

“They did not believe me. They were going to believe him. The police said it was an ordinary domestic violence incident. It wasn’t an ordinary domestic violence incident for me.”

“Now, I don’t trust anyone. I feel safe here with my children where we get our support from my whänau.”

“Consult with Mäori first. Respect Mäori people too. Respect our tikanga.”

Restorative Justice

“The only way to stop the cycle of abuse or offending is by dealing with the behaviour problem and the individual. Not by ostracising them into jail.”

Rohe 2

Abuse Intervention Pilot Programme (AIPP) – Every system has its own language and it keeps you away from accessing it. So we focus a lot on education, how the system works, institutional violence or control in our programmes. It’s to open up and teach people about how those systems operate. So that these people can have some power to assist them through the system.

The Legal System

“The justice system means to me the end of the line because everything else has failed.”

“Accountability back to women and back to Mäori is what makes [a local community group] a success. It’s the system we need to work with.”

ROHE 3

Access to Legal Information

“For the rural women access is a problem. Not everyone has a phone and to get help they have to travel away from home.”

“Many women in this area don’t have a telephone and don’t even have any transport.”

“My priorities are on my whänau and their needs. This may mean that I don’t get to go to these organisations and as far as I can tell they certainly don’t come to me.”

“The system is not fair, it’s an injustice. The Mäori is usually too shy to speak up. The judge is sitting up there in his high chair looking down on us Mäori like we are little people.”

Children and Young Persons Service

“It was a good experience. We got to say what we wanted and I thought we were listened to by those who were there.”

Courts

“The court system is a real barrier. It is like you-do-as-I tell-you.”

“It’s a very small court-room. It’s totally intimidating.”

“There are no adequate facilities for women and children in the foyer.”

“There is too much court jargon for us to understand.”

“There needs to be de-mystifying of the language of law that is being used.”

“Courts are alien places.”

“Assistance for travelling to court is the responsibility of Income Support. Why can’t we have a court room set up in [this area] instead of us having to travel so far?”

“It was wonderful and we [Mäori] felt more comfortable with that process.”

Domestic Violence

“Why should us women have to be removed from the homes? The victim shouldn’t have to move out.

“We need more Mäori people and we need more Mäori counselling services.”

Judges

“He was choice, had a nice way of speaking and clearly understood the whänau present. He looked on the whänau support group and gave us some support. It made my son think because of how [the judge] talked to him. It was really neat.”

Lawyers

“Someone needs to check on the quality and representation of these legal aid lawyers because they have none.”

“We need a community law office to help us here.”

“It’s up to us as Mäori and the community to get this up and running.”

Mäori Advocates

“The person needs to be someone who can understand our needs and is sensitive to us Mäori.”

Mäori Community Services

“Government departments are more and more depending on Mäori community services. Enough is enough.”

Marae Based Justice System

“I just think it’s got to involve all the whänau. It has to involve the immediate whänau around the victim and the offender.

Police

“I wonder how much it costs to be nice to people.”

“We are constantly being put down and intimidated by the Päkehä police. They look at you and they don’t believe you.”

“So the victim is not the person inside, but the victim is the whänau on the outside.”

The Legal System

“Their needs to be checks and monitoring mechanisms in the system. There is a lack of consistent contact between the victim and the prosecution team.”

“Good education programmes which can be carried out in school too.”

Treaty of Waitangi

“We need more Mäori social workers and more Mäori judges.”

“Our Mäori wardens do everything. They are even part-time police workers, but they don’t even get the financial help or recognition. Mäori are expected to provide their services free.”

“To be able to speak simple language and someone who can challenge the lawyers too.”

Te Reo Mäori

“The justice system, health care system, education system and socio-economic system are all inter-related to the well being of Mäori whänau.”

ROHE 4

Access to Legal Information

“A lot of us Mäori women do not know anything about the law.”

“Most women would either keep their problems to themselves, but if they are lucky they will by chance speak to other women for guidance”.

“Women ring whänau or other women they know.”

Courts

“The whole court system is alienating to our people. It just treats us like a herd of cattle. There is no dignity or respect given to us at all.”

“What we really need is to have people there full-time and on a regular basis to help our Mäori people. Even more faces in the court system will be of help.”

“The court waiting rooms and lack of facilities is disgusting. The lack of safety for our women who have to face their abusers in the waiting room is terrible.”

“No priority is given for women with children or for those of us who have to travel the same day. Having to sit there all day, not knowing what is happening or when you are to be called in is a real hassle. Especially if my tamariki are with me because there are no playroom or toys to keep them occupied.”

Domestic Violence

“We don’t have a Women’s Refuge here [rural town] or a safe home.”

“As victims we often give up because it takes too long to get help. Our children are being affected in the long run and often the abuser is given plenty of time to get the victim again. It is not safe for us.”

“Here the police are really good at responding to call-outs. They always call Victim Support if victims require it.”

Family Group Conference

“One family group conference I was involved in the people were afraid to speak out about what had happened. It turned out to be a nasty experience for the whänau who didn’t feel as though they had been listened to.”

“It was a marvellous experience for us all to have this hui on the marae. Three young children had got into trouble, but that forum allowed everyone to have their say and feel comfortable in that environment.”

Juries

“The whole system, even jury service, needs to be user-friendly.”

“If the whänau can be included in part of that process it would be good.”

Justices of the Peace

“There is no choice of lawyers here for us.”

“Generally women in our community and other people have a good relationship with him.”

Legal Aid

“No we don’t understand what it is or how to get it.”

“Through those who have been through the system. Word of mouth or depending upon what the crime is the judge may help you out.”

Mäori Advocates

“We need to have Mäori women to be advocates. A person who can awhi our women and people through the system.”

“They should have the knowledge of the law and they should also be a person acceptable to the people.”

“I would strongly recommend that we set up an advocacy group with the concept of a one stop shop in mind.”

Mäori Community Services

“The key to providing a community service for Mäori is good communication and making sure you do your homework first.”

“We have to help ourselves too. We need to push ourselves forward into positions which make a difference.”

Police

“We are fairly lucky with the police we have. The police work in well with the community groups and women have great respect for the police.”

“The police are getting better with their service.”

“In the past the police was like a father to us back in the old days. But now this does not happen because we no longer have our own police officer in our community. Our police officer has to travel from [a local town] which is one hour travelling to get to us.”

“I don’t think I would contact the police if anything went wrong. I would probably contact whänau first. I don’t have much confidence in the system anymore.”

“Because of those two police, we have grown in the last four years. They [police and Victim Support] work together now. They never used to.”

The Legal System

“The legal system has to acknowledge Mäori tikanga. If this means a total overhaul of the system then so be it. In the long run the benefits for all concerned would be worth it. As Mäori too we need time and the support to build it in a way that would be culturally appropriate for us.”

ROHE 5

Consultation Process

“Why hold the hui in Te Puni Kökiri (TPK) and why not hold a hui with iwi. I have a problem when TPK is being put up as a front with dealing with iwi issues. It doesn’t work for us.”

Judges

“I don’t see why we can’t recommend who we want for our judge.”

Lawyers

“They are not even trained to look after Mäori clients.”

Mäori Community Law Centre

“I wonder if they [Mäori Community Law Centres] are the obvious choice for our rural Mäori communities’ access to justice?”

ROHE 6

Community Law Centre

“We have no community law centre here at all. It would be helpful to have our own.”

“We want a good lawyer, one that is going to help us, not one that just looks at us. We do not want a lawyer who speaks big words, that we cannot really understand.”

Cost

“We can’t afford anything, let alone travelling for help.”

Courts

“Women have to sit in the same area as the perpetrators and there is no separate entrance or safe area for them. Families have to wait in a small area and there is not enough room for them. The waiting room is too small. Lawyers come out and will talk to clients in the waiting room and everyone can hear what’s going on.”

Domestic Violence

“Women have to handle domestic violence here because we don’t receive any help from anyone. We don’t have any safe houses or any social worker available for us.”

“Women are not applying for the court orders unless they really have to. More and more Mäori women are using distance as their protection rather than the law. Most of our women are moving for protection. They are leaving their rohe and their whänau.”

“Women from an outlying area come here and then women from another centre collect them. This town is too small to have a safe house really because people will know where the women and their children are.”

Income Support

“A lot of my clients won’t even think of going to ISS. It’s their staff’s attitude that is the problem. They talk down at you and there is no privacy to talk to them.”

“When women go to [one ISS office] the cases are exactly the same in terms of content. In another centre the women get the full amount of the benefits however the local office here are turning the women down. The practice of applying and receiving financial assistance is not consistent right throughout the country.”

Legal Aid

“Women don’t understand what legal aid is about. Women don’t even know that they can ask for it.”

“There is no real information in the court or anyway where they can apply for legal aid. At the court it’s just an empty counter and you have to tell the people you could be eligible for legal aid.”

“Even filling out the legal aid papers, people don’t know how to do it properly. There is no-one there to help them do this task.”

Police

“Some police are really interested in why we do things and these officers listen. Some are racist, ignorant and basically don’t give a damn about people in general. They are more interested in their power and control buzz.”

“The police attitude is ‘you just wait there and you will stay there until I am interested in dealing with you’. These police officers who need to change their attitudes come from out of the area.”

Women as Victims

“Sexual abuse is carrying on yet we will not seek help because it was too embarrassing.”

ROHE 7

Access to Legal Information

“Mostly our women don’t seek help unless they are desperate with their situations. Usually they will turn to other Mäori women or whänau members who have had similar experiences for help. We have a good CAB who can help with general information, but this is not enough usually for our Mäori women. Not many Mäori women use the CAB.”

“We need more information, education and awareness about the law.”

“We should be educating and promoting our people to have the confidence to be able to cut costs in legal services by doing as much as possible ourselves.”

“The type of information can include legal rights, suitable lawyers, income support, employment opportunities and support programmes for Mäori. We definitely need more choice of accessing information because we are just not getting what our wähine need.”

“We need a one stop shop with all the services people need under the one roof. Making services more available for all people has to be one way of helping us.”

Children and Young Persons Service

“If the present service cannot help Mäori, which it clearly cannot by the statistics given, then Mäori need to be given the chance to do it their way. Don’t expect us Mäori to do it for a koha, because we won’t. We need to be adequately funded and human resourced to make effective changes. But at the end of the day, I can guarantee you it will work. Mäori need to be educated further about their legal rights. To start with, a decolonisation education should be set up. Then we can think about the best for our Mäori women and tamariki.”

ROHE 8

Access to Legal Information

“To someone who can give it to us for free. Information Services, which is a private enterprise. Citizens Advice Bureau provide a free service to us too. Sometimes local lawyers will advertise free work too.”

“The first step is the yellow pages in the telephone book and that information is very limited. Or women can go to the CAB but that only runs at certain times. What about women who need help after hours? Basically we don’t have enough information for our women out there and that’s a real concern for their safety and welfare.”

“An 0800 telephone number would really be helpful to our women. We should be able to ring up someone and find out about our legal rights. If women do not have a phone, if there can be some way of having a public telephone 0800 number this would be great.”

Courts

“We had to sit outside with the deceased’s family. The court has only one waiting room and both sides had to sit together. After the trial the court clerk suggested that we wait for a police escort to take us out the back way for our protection.”

“The victim is forgotten about in the court process. The system is set up for the perpetrator of domestic violence.”

“Women who have been raped have been through a horrific situation. But when they come up against the legal system and its processes they are unjustly exposed again. Their safety is not taken into account. Women through the court system are constantly put into situations which do not protect the women at all. One woman was involved in a gang rape situation. Her three abusers had to wait in the same corridor as her. When she was in court she had to walk past them to get to the dock. All the time she was being abused yet again, but our so called fair legal system does nothing to protect her.”

Domestic Violence

“Be careful, really sound out the lawyers you are going to. Especially if we are Mäori, it’s the first thing they find out. What background have we got and what money have we got to pay them.”

Family Court

“One client I had went through a very violent breakup. She had to go into the court to discuss the custody of the children. She went by herself and was denied any support person to go with her. She was really scared for her safety in the court. Women need to be allowed to have whänau support in the Family Court. If her ex-partner doesn’t agree to that support person being there then that is it for the woman. It’s a very intimidating process for her.”

Judges

“This judge is wonderful. He made an effort to talk to our women’s group so that we can speak frankly about our concerns. We have also learnt a lot about the judiciary too. When we have to go into court this particular judge allowed us to have all our support from the community in the court-room. It was really neat.”

Legal Aid

“So many times women end up on the benefit and they are not informed of what they are entitled to. It should be part of the Income Support System policy to inform our women. Because nine times out of ten if the woman ends up on the DPB there will be some time that she will need a lawyer and to be informed of legal aid. That should be part of their policy or work for women.”

“Some lawyers are pretty good, especially those the Refuge work with, informing our women about legal aid. But we usually inform them first. This type of information sharing is alright for our women, but what about those women who stay away from Refuge but have other legal problems? They just don’t know.”

ROHE 9

Access to Legal Information

“They go to their friends, to their whänau or someone who has been through the same situation as them. A lot of our women don’t even know about the community law centre. It’s frightening for them because they are scared their partners are going to find out.

Children and Young Persons Service

“When co-ordinators were appointed here CYPS did look for local Mäori to fill those positions. The Act has a Mäori kaupapa and therefore you need Mäori implementing it. And if you haven’t got Mäori working the Act or people who are not of Mäori cognition then the Act will not work.”

“A competency course is given to all their workers. They assess all the workers to see if they are able to work satisfactorily with Mäori people. For example te reo pronunciation courses, are given and CYPS checks whether their workers are doing things culturally appropriate for Mäori families. CYPS have a whänau support team and they have so many cases that are tested every three months for their competency in dealing with Mäori issues.”

Mäori Advocates

“Women need to have women advocates who can empathise with the situation their clients are going through.”

“In the health system now we have patient advocates who look after the rights of people. Why can’t we have something very similar to Mäori legal advocates in the justice system? Where an advocate can look after our rights and make sure that the system is treating us all equal. There is a real urgent need for this with our Mäori people.”

Police

“Recruitment needs to be looked at because they seem to be recruiting the wrong types of people. They are getting people who do not have good human and public relation skills. They are too young, given too much responsibility and a lot of them are not sensitive to any culture. Police officers are let out of training school too early and they are not given enough support. They do not receive proper training about other cultures. Crime prevention really doesn’t pay for the police. If there was no crime then we wouldn’t need the police.”

Prison

“Seven inmates plus those on periodic detention went back to the marae. It worked really well for those people involved. But the plug was pulled on this programme because of the cost to the prison sending one officer away for three days. One course we do is for Päkehä and Mäori inmates. It involves knowing about your whakapapa – where you are from. It is just to make everyone fit somewhere with their family. Using Päkehä facilitators to do programmes for Mäori does not work.”

ROHE 10

Access to Legal Information

“Often our women have no cars and no-one to look after their children and that is a real barrier to women’s access to justice.”

Community Services

“For Mäori women who are not from here, Mäori providers have set themselves up with a hapu and iwi focus. On the other side of the coin, a large percentage of Mäori in Tauranga come from other areas and don’t often get the use of these services.”

Courts

“The waiting facilities are so small that a woman with a pram cannot fit in, there are no facilities for her children. Many times the mother and her children have to wait outside. There is not even a changing room for her children. It’s dreadful. Court-rooms are not a place for kids.”

“It needs to become more personalised and there needs to be values put into place.”

Education

“What I would like to see is proper training done and Wänanga for our Mäori. These education sessions should cover not only the justice system but health, education, employment etc. We need positive parenting skills, budgeting, life skills to prevent Mäori from being dependent on the state system which is not working even now.”

Family Group Conferences

“Families now understanding the conferences. Especially if they have been through them a couple of times. Now some of them are turning up with their own ideas and resolutions and have been quite happy with the results.”

Lawyers

“My lawyer is very good at explaining things in my everyday language instead of using those jargon legal terms.”

“We need to have more Mäori lawyers in our area.”

Marae Based Justice System

“Family group conferences could be held on marae for Mäori families. That would work beautifully.”

“Some incest cases could be heard, but again we would have to be very sure of who the offender was and what connection they would have to the decision makers.”

“If we are talking about serious crimes like murder etc, then it must be dealt with by the legal system.”

Police

“The attitude they have towards young Mäori single mothers is another problem here. They look down at us as if we are nothing in their eyes. They fail to give us the support and protection we need.”

ROHE 11

Access to Legal Information

“This is a legal education package for our community which is hopefully a pilot for other education programmes throughout New Zealand. Our people really need to know what to do in situations which require legal information.”

Domestic Violence

“It’s like the old saying, you make your bed and you lie in it.”

“We have an emergency house available but usually it is for just overnight stays or until the women and children have a place to go. Our women are removed from the area and get the help from outlying Refuges yet the man remains in the home.”

Interim Parenting Homes

“Instead of sending the children away to other towns and cities like CYPS does, our homes will be established to keep Mäori children together.”

Mäori Advocates

“A Mäori advocate from the community, not from the established institutions. Where the women are comfortable to go, where there is no cost to get the information they need and to understand what that system is.”

“This advocate could be located on a marae, or placed within a Mäori or iwi agency, within rünanga in a lot of avenues that would get the information back out to the Mäori women.”

Mäori Community Services

“Many of our Mäori community groups have assisted Mäori women, and their whänau with a lot of their problems. Our services are taken for granted by the government. Our trust boards get funding but when it comes to our women’s groups – no-one wants to know.”

Police

“This person should be available for Mäori people who are brought into the station and also for the police to ask advice about dealing with the Mäori community.”

“We need a community person to be the liaison person. The position needs to be paid and not voluntary. The liaison person will be worth their weight in gold to the police and the community.”

ROHE 12

Access to Legal Information

“I refer people back here [the Iwi Trust] or I connect them to people I know here. I usually find out where they are from and their names and I will contact them to some back home here. For me it’s whanaungatanga talking to them about where they are from and feeling the support we give, before referring them on to someone else for help.”

Courts

“We had asked for the same room to be available in Otähuhu and Papakura Courts. The whänau room has only been provided in the Youth Court. It’s a start which is good.”

“When a person needs to go and see a duty solicitor these rooms are very useful because the whole whänau can go in too.”

Domestic Violence

“The area of contention for me is, we get a referral in the weekend or on a Friday night and all the law centres or law help is closed. So the woman’s emotions, hurts, stress and trauma are expected to be hung on a hanger until Monday morning. No way can you tell the woman ‘wait till Monday’.

Mäori Women

“Our women are so oppressed that they grew up, even today, with the nonsense of their partners giving them a hiding. Our women then think they deserve it.”

“The majority of our Mäori women are dependent. Many have had this concept beaten into them or been brought up this way.”

“A lot of our women are not yet ready to make decisions. To get to that point may take a lot of time.”

Marae Based Justice System

“Mäori here are from different areas. I have some concerns about this system. Firstly, who is going to control someone from Nga Puhi and someone from Tainui? Secondly, do we have different marae being set up everywhere or is it going to be one main centre? Thirdly, what are we Mäori going to use as the law? In traditional times we used tapu and noa. So we have to go back to the structure of Päkehä, but in reality we have to go back to implement those laws.”

“We can say yes we go for marae based justice, but for a lot of us the issue is whether women can talk on the marae.”

Socio-economic Influences

“We have to educate the parents with the children. How do we bring up our children in this social life? So many of our children have so much stress because they do not know their Mäori identity. They have no sense of belonging. Therefore a lot of them will slip through the system.”

The Legal System

“The victims, the parents, the wives and the children suffer equally as much as those that commit the crime.”

ROHE 13

Access to Legal Information

“How do we go about getting information about our rights in the community in particular when we deal with the police?”

“Information about the law is not really known by our women until we actually need it. Usually it’s too late by then because you are being dealt with by the law.”

“There is nothing here like a community law service, not that we know of.”

Courts

“We need more Mäori lawyers, judges and court personnel to help our people.”

Domestic Violence

“Women here don’t normally press charges, they just put up with the violence. They just live with it.”

“The cost is a big problem. The women don’t have the money to get help so there is no choice for them.”

Education

“Lay advocates and court workers who are familiar with the system will nurture them through the process that way.”

“Education of our people about the roles and responsibilities of court advocates and lay advocates is important too.”

Legal Aid

“Two trained court advocates could be used by people on legal aid, instead of having to put up with expensive lawyers.”

Mäori Community Services

“CYPS think they know how we operate as a whänau but they don’t know. When it comes to the crunch, it is women like me who have to go and support to make sure those Mäori whänau needs are being met. I’m doing their work for them and I can’t say no because I want those whänau to be empowered.”

Police

“Police are unhelpful at our local station. They have an attitude like they have got better things to do. What do we have to do to get them to take us seriously?”

“What do they learn at training school which teaches them how to deal with people like us?”

“Maybe it’s the training police receive which has got something to do with the way they behave towards us Mäori.”