Maori men, relationships, and everyday practices: Towards broadening domestic violence research

Relationships are central to the health and wellbeing of Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand). Through processes of colonisation, cultural ways of relatedness embedded within Maori social structures experienced disruption and were reshaped over decades of assimilation. Maori knowledge and everyday practices that assisted in protecting Maori from societal problems, such as domestic violence, began to dwindle. In contemporary New Zealand, Maori are overrepresented in domestic violence statistics. Utilising an auto-ethnographic approach and case studies, our research focuses on five Maori men's experiences within intimate relationships and whanau (extended family) life. A significant feature of this research is that it provides insights into the ways Maori men draw on their cultural ways-of-being to enhance intimate relationships and maintain bonds within whanau and community life to forge new ways-of-being. Such insights have the potential to inform preventative measures against domestic violence within Maori communities.