Confidence and connectedness: Indigenous Māori women's views on personal safety in the context of intimate partner violence

Health Care Women Int. 2016 Jul;37(7):707-20. doi: 10.1080/07399332.2015.1107069. Epub 2015 Oct 22.

Abstract

Māori (New Zealand) women, similar to women belonging to Indigenous and minority groups globally, have high levels of lifetime abuse, assault, and homicide, and are over-represented in events that compromise their safety. We sought insights into how Māori women view safety. Twenty Māori women's narratives revealed safety as a holistic concept involving a number of different elements. We found women had developed an acute sense of the concept of safety. They had firm views and clear strategies to maintain their own safety and that of their female family and friends. These women also provided insights into their experiences of feeling unsafe.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Battered Women / psychology*
  • Battered Women / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Intimate Partner Violence / ethnology*
  • Intimate Partner Violence / psychology
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander / ethnology
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander / psychology*
  • New Zealand
  • Qualitative Research
  • Resilience, Psychological
  • Risk Factors
  • Social Support*
  • Spouse Abuse / psychology*
  • Spouse Abuse / statistics & numerical data
  • Stress, Psychological / complications
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Women's Health