Takatāpui

• Māori on average have the worst health status of any ethnic group in Aotearoa.

• Māori life expectancy is considerably lower than non-Māori as well as having higher mortality at nearly all ages.

• Māori have poorer outcomes across almost all chronic diseases including heart attack, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

• Māori have higher rates of mental health issues, interpersonal violence and suicide.

• Māori receive less access to, and through, high-quality health care services.

• “The number of takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI survey participants reporting homelessness (19%) and ever exchanged sex for money or goods were high (28%). Homelessness was correlated to insufficient income and discrimination. Of those reporting ever engaged in sex work, of concern were the number reporting the streets and private settings as sites where sex was exchanged. On the face of it, data suggest a higher vulnerability to risk of sexual and physical violence and sexuality and gender-based discrimination when takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI-plus exchange sex on streets and in private settings rather than licensed brothels”.

• “Discrimination experienced by takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI-plus survey participants – when using health and social services and on the streets and in public places – is grave, unacceptable, and induces unhealthy and at times life-threatening levels of distress. At 77%, takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI-plus people’s distress as a consequence of racism, homophobia and transphobia demands national and international action. High levels of discrimination, violence and abuse indicate that racism, homophobia and transphobia are entrenched, persistent and systemic in Aotearoa New Zealand. It should not be a surprise, then, that 45% of participants reported they were not open or only sometimes open about being takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI-plus. That takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI-plus people are unable to express their tuakiri (cultural, sexual and gender identities) and exercise their rangatiratanga or their Treaty of Waitangi self-determining rights for fear of violence, abuse is intolerable”.

• “Survey participants reported the stress caused by society’s response to their cultural, sexual and gender identities contributed to self-harm and suicide. Fifty-five percent of survey participants reported they had ever contemplated self-harm or suicide, and 34% had ever self-harmed or attempted suicide. Moreover, support for those who had contemplated self-harm and suicide and those who had self-harmed and attempted suicide had largely come from friends and whānau if, in fact, any support was received”

Colonisation has had tragic effects on indigenous populations all around the world and Māori are no different. Cultural destruction, land loss, dehumanisation and racism have all impacted on the ability of Māori to thrive in their own lands. Despite clear evidence regarding these wider determinants of health, colonisation is often un-cited as a contributing factor and is still a contentious consideration in the broader sociopolitical context.

Colonisation has also caused a loss of connection to takatāpui whakapapa and culture. Māori oral traditions and stories demonstrate acceptance of a more fluid gender and sexuality before colonisation began, and the word takatāpui has its origins in historical Māori society. However, the loss of this history may have contributed to the loss of positive cultural, sexual and gender identity reassurance, as well as disruption of community and whānau support.