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Abstract
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In his two articles, Professor Hook addresses the particularly vexing issue of the inter-relationships between domestic violence legislation, racial stereotyping, and varying conviction and incarceration rates of Māori, Pacific Islander and Pākehā men. With respect to the variety of factors that may influence conviction rates, Professor Hook notes the difficulty of assessing the multiple and often inter-related factors that influence conviction and incarceration rates. It is in the spirit of wishing to further our understanding of such social phenomena that I offer a social anthropologist’s perspective on how such complexities can be addressed.
Professor Hook approaches the phenomenon of disproportionate domestic violence convictions among Māori through a statistical analysis of conviction rates using Statistics New Zealand data. Conviction rates of Māori, Pacific Islander and Pākehā males from 1980 to 2007 for domestic violence and other crimes are examined. In taking this approach, Professor Hook focuses primarily on one possible contributing factor; namely the Domestic Violence Act (1995). He suggests this Act may have been applied differently depending on the ethnic background of the accused. He further indicates that the historical disempowering of Māori during colonialism, negative media representations and society-wide prejudices against Māori may play a role in contributing to this phenomenon.
I would like to suggest that we broaden our focus and consider how we can add to statistics- based analysis in order to enlarge our understanding of these complex issues. For while there is ample evidence of Māori being portrayed in the media and in other forms of popular culture as more closely associated with criminal activity than other ethnic groups (Kernot, 1990; Walker, 1990), just how this might be related to domestic violence conviction and incarceration rates could benefit from the addition of complementary forms of analysis. In particular, much can be gained by adopting ethnographic and other qualitative approaches that examine the everyday routines, experiences and conceptual categories that are enacted in private homes, across communities, in police cars or in courtrooms as a means of understanding violence (both domestic violence and other forms), racial stereotyping and the role of the state; and in this case, in particular the activities of policing, legislation and juridical decision-making.
With this suggestion in mind, two specific areas that merit further examination are: differing social attitudes towards the reporting of domestic violence across communities and over time; and attitudes towards the accused during both arrest and ensuing juridical processes. It is emphasized that I do not present these as enabling a conclusive explanation of differing conviction and incarceration rates but rather as some avenues, amongst others, that could shed further light on these issues. |