A Gendered Approach to Indigenous Self-determination in Realising the Right of Māori Women to Live Free from Violence.

Hannah van Wilsem vos (Ngāi Tahu), Universtiy of Waikato

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the right of indigenous women to live free from violence could be more effectively realised by taking a gendered approach to the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination. Within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, this is a poignant issue given that Māori women are three times as likely to experience violence than non- Māori women. 

This research will examine whether human rights can be indigenous rights given that some scholars query the individualistic and androcentric nature of human rights and in particular the inherent tensions between collective and individual rights; but it will be argued that the tension is illusory because human rights are interrelated and interdependent, and such concerns do not detract from the overall merits of viewing violence against indigenous women as a human rights issue. With a special focus on violence against wāhine Māori, Mana Wāhine theory will be explored because it recognises and supports the perspectives of Māori women and it dissects the intersectionality of gender and indigeneity in ascertaining not only gender balance, but a greater cohesion of wāhine within the collective realm. 

The research seeks to determine whether a gendered examination of the collective right to self-determination can contribute to a more effective mechanism in responding to the epidemic of violence against indigenous women, and specifically Māori women, given that efforts so far clearly are not ameliorating the issue. Self-determination cannot be meaningfully achieved without considering the very real issues around indigenous women’s social, economic and political rights as individuals, all of which heighten manifestation of violence, and lessen the integrity of collective autonomy. Thus, it will be argued that the current human rights framework needs to be interpreted and applied in a manner that more effectively realises the right to be free from violence for indigenous women.