Jim Anglem, of the Violence Research Centre, rejects this notion, saying women and children were revered in traditional Maori society. Moreover, between 1950 and 1970 there was little evidence of Maori family violence.
He hasn't been looking very hard for it.
Historian Bronwyn Labrum reviewed child welfare files from the 1950s and 60s.
"As with Pakeha however, domestic conflict contributed to a sizeable number of cases, and appears to have intensified, or become more visible, under pressures of urbanisation, relocation and living in a nuclear family style. Money troubles and commonly accepted rates of Maori drinking only made matters worse. In 1958 the Secretary of Maori Affairs informed the minister that welfare officers were constantly being called on upon to mediate in 'domestic disputes' and ' needed tact and diplomacy plus a fair share of good fortune' to solve such cases. The reports from the districts suggested excessive drinking, unequal distribution of family income, unfaithfulness, and bad living conditions, among other things as reasons."
Bronwyn Dalley, in Family Matters, described a 1967 investigation into child abuse that found the reported rate of abuse for Maori children was six times that for Pakeha.
And there are other first-hand testimonies from social workers of those decades detailing domestic violence in rural Maori communities.
A trip to the local library alone would provide the evidence he can't find.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10750847
(Can't embed the link)
2 comments:
Was his seeing-eye dog doing his research for him?
what a complete plonker with his typical rose tinted mythical dusky skinned natives communing with nature in perfect familail bliss .
Absolute horse pucky, I grew up in that period in industrial towns witrh heavily Maori workforce and domestic violence was rife , (unspoken) but everywhere ,commingled with alcohol abuse
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