Māori disproportionately affected by state and faith-based care abuse

Māori were disproportionately impacted and over-represented in cases of abuse and neglect within state and faith-based institutions, one of Aotearoa's most extensive inquiries has found.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which spanned nearly six years, was established to investigate the abuse of tamariki, rangatahi, tāngata whaikaha (people with disabilities), within state and faith-based institutions. Its final report has been publicly released on Wednesday afternoon.

The inquiry estimated up to 200,000 people were abused in care between 1950 and 2019 and revealed that during that time, Māori survivors reported higher levels of physical abuse compared with other ethnicities.

The inquiry highlighted the abuse tamariki Māori suffered during this period exacerbated the impacts of colonisation, which lead to a higher number of Māori children entering state care.

Ethnic inequalities were also evident in the placement of children across various social welfare settings, with tamariki Māori more likely to be placed in restrictive environments rather than foster care.

Racist targeting by police and social workers, along with harsher sentences by youth courts, significantly contributed to this over-representation, the report found.

The report said the state's use of formal powers and compulsory care options was often discriminatory, and legal orders were more frequently used against Māori instead of supporting community-based or whānau-based care.

The inquiry outlined the state generally failed to consider a te ao Māori perspective or to support sustained connections to whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Faith-based care also had an over-representation of tamariki and rangatahi Māori, who were disproportionately affected by being moved from overcrowded state care settings to faith-based ones.

The report highlighted Māori in faith-based care settings were subjected to co-occurring racism, cultural neglect, and spiritual abuse.

The state's policies conflicted with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, denying Māori the right to care for tāngata whaikaha and families with members of the disabled community. The inquiry heard that these failures were systemic and long-standing.

Survivors reported experiencing all forms of abuse and neglect, including physical, sexual, psychological, and cultural abuse.

Survivors were deprived of practicing tikanga, mātauranga Māori and speaking te reo Māori, which had long-lasting impacts on their sense of identity and belonging. This disconnection from their cultural identity caused deep psychological trauma and a sense of whakamā (shame), with impacts felt intergenerationally.

The loss of cultural practices, potential leadership, and the difficulty in reintegrating into their whānau and communities were significant consequences of this historical trauma.

The inquiry has proposed 138 recommendations, including embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into its policy.