November 17, 2020
Matauranga Maori needed to counter takatapui discrimination
High levels of discrimination significantly impact the health and wellbeing of takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI+.
That's one of the conclusions of a ground-breaking University of Waikato University study in which more than 300 participants completed an hour-long survey and 50 were then interviewed in-depth.
Research head Dr Alison Green says 51 percent say they experienced racism, twice the percentage reported by the general Māori population, 49 percent experienced homophobia and 25 percent says they faced transphobia or misogyny when visiting their GP.
She says health providers need to do more to address the issue.
"If our Māori communities aren't receiving high quality mātauranga Māori based information about what it is to be takatāpui, how that was a feature of our pre-colonial life, then we can't make the changes to incorporate our takatāpui members into our whānau," Dr Green says.
The Honour Project Aotearoa found participants wanted more advocacy and influence on health policy and services as well as mātauranga Māori-based health information and resources.
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