Anti-racism in a New Zealand context: Intersecting inequalities

 By Hannah Goodall

A few days ago, my mother sent me an article entitled ‘Maori mothers describe child welfare system as dangerous and brutal in new report’. The article details the experiences of Māori mothers and their involvement with social services; more specifically Oranga Tamariki.

With the anti-racism protests and riots currently happening in America, and the subsequent conversations occurring about systemic racism, capitalism and oppression, I can’t help but see similarities to the structural racism that exists in New Zealand. It could be argued that this racism is worse in America, or that it is less obvious and manifests less violently in our country. I think that although racism in New Zealand looks different from the outside, it is still detrimental to our indigenous people in similar ways.

Social work: Domestic violence, mother blaming and patriarchy

By JP

For a long time, much of the parenting responsibilities have been placed on the mother. Even now when the roles of the parent are seemingly starting to become equal, it does not reflect the truth. Fathers are seen to have a more intimate parenting role, rather than the intensive one that the mother has (Shirani et al, 2012). Mothers are seen to have the capability to have complete control over their child’s life and how they will grow up to be. This pressure of mothers is further cemented by ideas such as “maternal instincts” and the image of an “all sacrificing mother.” They are seen as having the innate ability to be the perfect parent. One of the points about such discourses is that mothers are not the only ones negatively affected by it. It also undermines the capabilities of fathers (Mulkeen, 2012).