Studies call for state accountability for state harms 

University of Otago, Wellington—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke researchers believe the government is breaching the rights of imprisoned and recently-released Māori.

They completed two studies. The first found primary care services are not meeting the high health needs of Māori just released from prison, and cost is a barrier to access.

The second, found Māori were undercounted by 6% in prisons, impacting resource allocation and policy decisions.

Lead author of both, Research Associate Professor Paula King, of the Department of Public Health, Wellington, says Māori have been imprisoned on a mass scale, driven by racialized inequities in the criminal legal system.

She argues it is essential the impact imprisonment has on their health and well-being, along with that of their whānau and communities, is addressed.

“What we expect is state accountability for state harms.

“Mass imprisonment of Māori and the consequent individual, collective, inter-generational, and societal harms represent an urgent area of health and justice need in Aotearoa.

“The prison state does not comprehensively monitor the health and well-being of Māori in its prisons, resulting in a lack of meaningful information.”

Community re-entry from prison presents multiple challenges in accessing health care.

The researchers analyzed the health service contacts of nearly 7,400 Māori who were released from prisons in a 12-month period from June 2021.

Published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, the study found that only 76% were enrolled with a primary health organization, compared to 95% of the total New Zealand population, meaning 24% did not have access to subsidized primary care. This is likely due to Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand rules that exclude those in prison or on remand from being enrolled with a primary health organization.

The study found that Māori recently released from prison accessed primary care services despite barriers, but there was nonetheless evidence that primary care services are not meeting their high health needs.

Meanwhile, the research published in Health & Justice found a 6% undercount of the Māori prison population, calculated by comparing Department of Corrections and Stats NZ data with Census data, equating to 405 fewer than what is publicly reported by the government.

Associate Professor King says it is important the numbers accurately reflect reality because the government needs to understand how its criminal legal system is performing in relation to Māori health, and the elimination of inequities.

“Both of these studies reflect a breach of the government’s Te Tiriti obligations to monitor and evaluate impacts of Government actions and inactions for Māori,” she says.

Both studies were part of a kaupapa Māori research project, TIAKI, conducted with community-based research partner Tū Kotahi and led by Associate Professor King, Manager of Tū Kotahi Cheryl Davies and Otago Senior Practice Fellow, Associate Professor Ruth Cunningham.

Associate Professor King explains the project focused on the specific area of community re-entry well-being for whānau released from prisons.

“This is a critical intervention point to disrupt cycles of intergenerational harms, and to support restoration of health and well-being for Māori.

“Prisons are increasingly being recognized as a powerful determinant of health and well-being across the life course, with age at first imprisonment found to be an important predictor of adverse health outcomes.

“We know our research will provide the most comprehensive knowledge to date about community re-entry for Māori in an area where there is a need for available and effective solutions. We want the solution generated to contribute to the restoration of well-being for Māori and also for Indigenous peoples globally.”