Structural discrimination in New Zealand

Last updated

Structural discrimination (also known as structural inequality, systemic discrimination, and institutional racism) occurs in a society "when an entire network of rules and practices disadvantages less empowered groups while serving at the same time to advantage the dominant group". [1]

Contents

The Human Rights Commission in New Zealand have asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that structural discrimination is a real and ongoing issue in the country. [2] The commission has acknowledged the importance of addressing institutional barriers within New Zealand's social institutions, stating that these barriers help to create social inequalities which in turn limit the access to and fulfillment of New Zealand's human rights obligations. [3]

In the New Zealand Department of Social Welfare's (1988) Report, Puao-te-Ata-tu, it was noted that structural discrimination is “the most insidious and destructive form of racism.” [4] The Report found that the negative effects of structural discrimination were wide reaching and inter-generational and primarily disadvantaged New Zealand's most vulnerable groups. [5] Joris de Bres, New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner from 2002 to 2013, stated that the systems and processes in New Zealand public services are not sufficiently sensitive to the diversity of its population. [6] He argued that addressing structural discrimination is vitally important for New Zealand as currently structural disadvantage is being perpetuated with Māori, Pasifika, and ethnic minorities not getting equal outcomes through their access and interaction with public service bodies. [6]

Legislative context

At a domestic level human rights in New Zealand are primarily contained in the Human Rights Act 1993 (HRA) and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). Structural Discrimination is not given a definition in the domestic legislation; however, under the HRA (following the NZBORA non-discrimination standard) it is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity or national origin, with this including both direct and indirect discrimination. [7] Structural discrimination can be considered a form of indirect discrimination as it occurs when an action, omission, or policy that appears to treat everyone in the same manner, actually creates negative effects unfairly impacting a particular group. [3]

Human rights are also protected at an international level with New Zealand having ratified numerous international human rights treaties. [8] Under Article 2(1)(c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) it is stated that, “each State party shall take effective measures to review governmental, national and local policies, and to amend, rescind or nullify any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination wherever it exists." [9] As is affirmed by Geiringer and Palmer, this brings about positive obligations on the State to address matters of structural discrimination, meaning that a State must, "ensure that formal rights and entitlements are extended without discrimination", by looking to, "eliminate structural inequalities and actual social and economic disparities.” [10]

It is important to note that the Treaty of Waitangi is another key legislative document to acknowledge when discussing structural discrimination in New Zealand. Despite the well documented translation disagreements and lack of higher protective status of the Treaty in a domestic constitutional context, [11] it is well recognised that the Treaty's articles concern recognition of rights and responsibilities which are necessary considerations when looking to address structural discrimination. The Human Rights Commission found in its (2010) Report, ‘Human Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi’, that, “the guarantee of equal rights promised in the Treaty remains unfulfilled today, as systemic disadvantage remains to be fully addressed.” [12]

Social context

Overall, New Zealand's positive human rights record is well acknowledged and documented. Carlos Vazquez, Country Rapporteur for New Zealand for the CERD Committee (2013) Report, stated that 'the human rights situation in New Zealand was very positive and that remaining challenges were being addressed.' [13] He noted that New Zealand had implemented most of the recommendations made during the last review and that there were many examples of best practices which would be recommended to other countries. [13] These sentiments were echoed in New Zealand's dealings with the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. In 2014 the reviewing body, "recognised the high realisation of human rights in New Zealand and commended the Government on its ongoing commitment to improve the realisation of rights for all people in Aotearoa New Zealand.” However, like any nation New Zealand has a specific set of human rights difficulties which arise because of the nation's history and the subsequent development of social policy.

Several United Nations human rights monitoring bodies have expressed their concern about inequalities in New Zealand, and have suggested several ways to address these, including acknowledgment and reduction of structural discrimination. [14] The CERD Committee (2013) Report stated that despite several positive steps being taken to address the issue of structural discrimination in New Zealand, they were concerned that the problem remained. [15] The Committee welcomed New Zealand's, "recognition that structural discrimination in the State party is partly responsible for the persistent poor outcomes that the members of the Māori and Pasifika communities experience", and that, "the Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to improve the outcomes of the Māori and Pasifika in the fields of employment, health and in the administration of criminal justice by, inter alia, addressing the existing structural discrimination in the State party.” [15] In 2012, the United Nations Committee on Economic, social and cultural rights recommended that the New Zealand Government, “strengthen its efforts aimed at eliminating the disadvantages faced by Māori and Pasifika in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by addressing structural factors.”

Effects

In the Human Rights Commission's (2010) annual review of race relations, 'Tui Tui Tuituia Race Relations', it was stated that structural discrimination and the institutional barriers it creates affect the full spectrum of human rights including, “civil, political, social and economic rights.” [16] When examining the effects of structural discrimination it can be seen that the Pākehā majority in New Zealand, “have better outcomes on nearly every socio-economic indicator, but they have also accumulated inter-generational benefits over time that concentrate and sustain ethnic differences in wealth, power and other indicators of wellbeing.” [17] [18] The effects of structural discrimination are cumulative with disadvantages crossing both public institutions and generations. It is an unfortunate reality that in New Zealand there is no equality in access to rights to health, education, and justice due to a various socio-economic obstacles, including structural discrimination. [17] As is acknowledged by the Human Rights Commission, "although frequent citation of negative statistics about inequality can have the unintentional impact of further perpetuating negative messages about Māori and Pacific communities, statistics do provide an evidence base for analysing structural discrimination and encouraging government action." [19]

Health

Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) states that everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. [20] However, a vast amount of research into structural discrimination within the country's health institutions has found that "significant and deep-seated ethnic disparities in health and well-being continue to afflict New Zealand". [21] For example, research suggests that, “pacific peoples turn up for GP appointments at higher rates than the general New Zealander population, but experience worse outcomes and receive fewer referrals, despite statistically having a higher burden of disease.” It has also been found that structural discrimination in health care institutions has been associated with lower odds of breast and cervical cancer screening among Māori women, as well as negative patient experiences for all participants. [22]

Education

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that everyone has the right to an education and that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality. [23] Unfortunately in New Zealand it is easy to make connections between some of the continual ethnic inequalities in the education institutions and structural discrimination. [24] Research shows that approximately 50 per cent of Māori students leave school without any educational qualifications, compared to 21 per cent of the overall New Zealand population. [25] It is argued that some institutional approaches look at Māori and Pacific students as the problem instead of examining the structures and systems as the main contributors to educational inequity. [24]

In a discussion paper on educational structural discrimination a New Zealand school principal gives a pertinent analogy between a colouring book and "the normalised nature of dominant culture world views and practices in education systems". She explains that in a colouring book white is the ‘invisible’ colour, because it's just there as the whole background. Mainstream schools are described as “white spaces” that reflect the white spaces present in society where a set of rules and practices dictate “whose knowledge is important, what success looks like, what achievement matters, how the space is organised and who has the power." Such institutionalised disadvantage starts at an early age with barriers in early childhood education then contributing to lower levels of higher educational achievement. [26]

Justice

Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. [27] However the Human Rights Commission has stated that the differences in convictions and sentencing for Māori and non-Māori illustrate evidence of structural discrimination and unconscious bias within the justice system sentencing process. [28] This can is furthered by statistics relating to imprisonment. Ethnic minorities make up a disproportionately high percentage of prisoners despite their low percentage of the population. To explain this research suggests that there are two forms of structural discrimination that exist within the justice system in New Zealand. [28] The first of these is based upon the inherent nature of the New Zealand justice system. This system features a lack of engagement with the affected minorities in policy creation and implementation and demonstrates a lack of cultural sensitivity. [28] The second relates to practice within the system. There is evidence of bias at different points throughout the system from arrests to sentencing. [28]

Government responses

Inaction and inclusion

The Robson Hanan Trust concluded that despite the overwhelming evidence that structural discrimination exists in New Zealand, there has been a historical reluctance on the part of successive governments to address this key issue. The Human Rights Commission has affirmed that, “inaction is a form of structural discrimination," and have stated that, "where government services do not respond to the specific needs of ethnic groups, the absence of initiatives perpetuates barriers.” [29] It has been noted by several influential bodies within New Zealand and through international human rights monitoring that inaction has been a leading contributing factor in restricting New Zealand's progress in eliminating structural discrimination and upholding all of New Zealand's international human rights obligations as such.

Public institutions may not have knowledge of the disadvantages and disparities their discriminatory systems and procedures are creating, but an ignorance of "these unconscious practices serves to perpetuate disadvantage." [30] This is best exemplified in the fact that academics have identified a specialised form of structural discrimination that has developed in New Zealand which provides for “inclusion in principle, through use of encompassing and inclusive speech," but is coupled, "with a resource-based exclusion supporting disparity in fact.” [31] Despite this, New Zealand has made some positive steps towards addressing the problem it has with structural discrimination. For example, following recommendations made by an ICESCR Committee in 2012 to address structural discrimination in public institutions, Iwi (Tribes) and the police have developed several strategies aimed at reducing victimisation among Māori. Regretfully Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand have found that, "similar strategies to address institutional bias are yet to be developed across all public service sectors, including health, education and justice.”

Future directions

It is well known that disparities in the enjoyment of human rights remains a complex issue in New Zealand that needs to be addressed with the collaboration and cooperation of civil society. [15] When looking at the Waitangi Tribunal's 2011 report ‘Ko Aotearoa Tenei’ the Human Rights Commission has stated that drawing on diverse cultural values and practices to inform more responsive social services that cater to the needs of different communities is a central part of addressing structural discrimination. [32] The commission has also stated that they support the recommendation made by the UN Committee Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to address structural discrimination that the Government set specific equality targets by year and closely monitor the achievement of these. [33] They go on to conclude that a failure to address the causes of New Zealand's socio-economic inequities is itself a form of structural discrimination and that the continuing gap in socio-economic indicators between ethnic groups underscores the need to tackle structural sources of inequality. [34] As such the Commission suggest that a comprehensive policy approach should take into account and seek to address both structural barriers to equality and embedded social and economic factors. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

Closing the Gaps was a policy of the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand for assisting socio-economically disadvantaged Māori and Pasifika ethnic groups in New Zealand through specially targeted social programmes. The phrase "Closing the Gaps" was a slogan of the Labour Party in the 1999 election campaign and was implemented as a policy initiative in the 2000 Budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waitangi Tribunal</span> Permanent commission of inquiry in New Zealand

The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.

The term "minority group" has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority, and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights</span> Covenant adopted in 1966 by United Nations General Assembly resolution

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came into force on 3 January 1976. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to all individuals including those living in Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories. The rights include labour rights, the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. As of February 2024, the Covenant has 172 parties. A further four countries, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Covenant.

Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequities, and face worse health outcomes than those who are able to access certain resources. It is not equity to simply provide every individual with the same resources; that would be equality. In order to achieve health equity, resources must be allocated based on an individual need-based principle.

Cultural safety is the effective nursing practice of nursing a person or family from another culture; it is determined by that person or family. It developed in New Zealand, with origins in nursing education. An unsafe cultural practice is defined as an action which demeans the cultural identity of a particular person or family.

Pavee Point (PP) is a government-funded non-governmental organisation based in Dublin, Ireland that was formed to improve the human rights of Irish Travellers and to bridge the economic and social inequalities between Travellers and settled people. Irish Travellers are an ethnic minority group that originated from nomadic tradespeople.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</span> Treaty of the United Nations

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full equality under the law. The Convention serves as a major catalyst in the global disability rights movement enabling a shift from viewing persons with disabilities as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing them as full and equal members of society, with human rights. The convention was the first U.N. human rights treaty of the twenty-first century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in New Zealand</span> Overview of the observance of human rights in New Zealand

Human rights in New Zealand are addressed in the various documents which make up the constitution of the country. Specifically, the two main laws which protect human rights are the New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993 and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. In addition, New Zealand has also ratified numerous international United Nations treaties. The 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted that the government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the indigenous population.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a state monitoring mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). It was established by General Assembly resolution 60/251 in 2006 to periodically review the protection and promotion of human rights in each of the 193 United Nations (UN) Member States. New Zealand has been reviewed twice via the UPR in 2009 and 2014.

Structural inequality occurs when the fabric of organizations, institutions, governments or social networks contains an embedded cultural, linguistic, economic, religious/belief, physical or identity based bias which provides advantages for some members and marginalizes or produces disadvantages for other members. This can involve, personal agency, freedom of expression, property rights, freedom of association, religious freedom,social status, or unequal access to health care, housing, education, physical, cultural, social, religious or political belief, financial resources or other social opportunities. Structural inequality is believed to be an embedded part of all known cultural groups. The global history of slavery, serfdom, indentured servitude and other forms of coerced cultural or government mandated labour or economic exploitation that marginalizes individuals and the subsequent suppression of human rights are key factors defining structural inequality.

Societal racism is a type of racism based on a set of institutional, historical, cultural and interpersonal practices within a society that places one or more social or ethnic groups in a better position to succeed and disadvantages other groups so that disparities develop between the groups. Societal racism has also been called structural racism, because, according to Carl E. James, society is structured in a way that excludes substantial numbers of people from minority backgrounds from taking part in social institutions. Societal racism is sometimes referred to as systemic racism as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in New Zealand</span> Overview of the status of women in New Zealand

Women in New Zealand are women who live in or are from New Zealand. Notably New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world where women were entitled to vote. In recent times New Zealand has had many women in top leadership and government roles, including three female Prime Ministers, most recently Jacinda Ardern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination</span> 1969 United Nations human rights instrument

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. The Convention also requires its parties to criminalize hate speech and criminalize membership in racist organizations.

New Zealand suffers from one of the highest rates of child poverty in the Western world. According to Statistics New Zealand, by the end of June 2022, 12% of all children were directly affected by poverty. Historically, child poverty has had, and continues to have a disproportionately high effect on in Māori and Pasifika households, with 14.5% of Māori children and 19.5% of Pacific children living in poverty. These two ethnic groups continue to experience lingering effects of forced land alienation and immigration discrimination.

Local government bodies in New Zealand have responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) to perform a wide range of functions, and provide a wide range of services to the communities they represent. There is not an explicit focus on human rights in New Zealand local government, or any direct reference to human rights under the LGA. Local bodies in New Zealand are required to act in a way that is consistent with the rights guaranteed under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). Internationally there is growing consideration of how local government does and could promote and protect fundamental rights.

Labour rights in New Zealand are largely covered by both statute, particularly the Employment Relations Act 2000, and common law. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment carries out most of the day to day administrative functions surrounding labour rights and their practical application in the state.

Domestic violence in New Zealand, often called family violence or family harm is defined under New Zealand law as not only intimate partner violence but also violence against other family members, including children and extended family or whānau, as well as people living together in the same household, such as flatmates. It is estimated that one third of people in New Zealand have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) within their lifetime, making New Zealand have the highest rate of domestic violence in 14 OECD countries. In 2020, New Zealand police responded to a domestic violence call every 4 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African diaspora</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed race-based health care disparities in many countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Singapore. These disparities are believed to originate from structural racism in these countries which pre-dates the pandemic; a commentary in The BMJ noted that "ethnoracialised differences in health outcomes have become the new normal across the world" as a result of ethnic and racial disparities in COVID-19 healthcare, determined by social factors. Data from the United States and elsewhere shows that minorities, especially black people, have been infected and killed at a disproportionate rate to white people.

The Human Rights Economy (HRE) envisages economies that are consistent with human rights laws. It is a conceptual framework introduced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) indicating that all individuals and organs of society need to respect human rights (preamble, art 29). The OHCHR advocates for the adoption of the Human Rights Economy to ensure that economic and social decision-making are guided by human rights law. The concept posits that by applying human rights law to all aspects of society, a more equitable and sustainable economy will be created. The Human Rights Economy, like human rights, applies to all political and economic systems.

References

  1. ↑ EEO Policy to 2010: Future Directions of EEO in the New Zealand Public Service. State Services Commission. 1997. p. 11. Embedded in Official Information Request OIA 2023-0015.
  2. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 50.
  3. 1 2 Human Rights Commission 2012.
  4. ↑ Department of Social Welfare (1988) Report, Puao-te-atu-tu (Daybreak), at 18.
  5. ↑ Department of Social Welfare (1988) Report, Puao-te-atu-tu (Daybreak).
  6. 1 2 "Structural discrimination still needs work - Human Rights Commission". Newshub. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  7. ↑ As was stated in Northern Regional Health Authority v Human Rights Commission [1998] 2 NZLR 218; (1997) 4 HRNZ 37 (HC) CITE THE HRA as well
  8. ↑ UN Treaty Collection: New Zealand.
  9. ↑ "International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Human rights and social policy in New Zealand", Ministry of Social Development, retrieved 24 November 2020
  11. ↑ "Read the Treaty – Differences between the texts". NZHistory. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  12. ↑ Human Rights Commission (2010) Report, 'Te Mana i Waitangi: Human Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi', at 18.
  13. 1 2 "Committee on Racial Discrimination considers report of NZ News". www.scoop.co.nz. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. ↑ A few examples being the UPR Committees, CERD, and Amnesty International New Zealand.
  15. 1 2 3 "Concluding observations on the eighteenth to the twentieth periodic reports of New Zealand, adopted by the Committee at its eighty-second session (11 February–1 March 2013)" (PDF). Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Human Rights Commission (2011) Report, 'Tüi Tüi Tuituiä: Race Relations in 2010', at 4.
  17. 1 2 Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 3.
  18. ↑ Human Rights Commission (2012) Report, at 3. [ dead link ]
  19. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 2.
  20. ↑ "OHCHR | International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 18.
  22. ↑ Harris, Ricci; Cormack, Donna; Tobias, Martin; Yeh, Li-Chia; Talamaivao, Natalie; Minster, Joanna; Timutimu, Roimata (2012). "Self-Reported Experience of Racial Discrimination and Health Care Use in New Zealand: Results From the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey". American Journal of Public Health. 102 (5): 1012–1019. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300626. PMC   3483923 . PMID   22420811.
  23. ↑ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (PDF). Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  24. 1 2 Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 28.
  25. ↑ Bishop, Russell; Berryman, Mere; Cavanagh, Tom; Teddy, Lani (2009). "Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand". Teaching and Teacher Education. tekotahitanga.tki.org.nz. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  26. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 29.
  27. ↑ "OHCHR | International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 34.
  29. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 48.
  30. ↑ Rethink website, as above.
  31. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012 , p. 4: Discussing analysis in James, Liu and Caren (2012), ‘The Medium shapes the Message: Marshall McLuhan and Grice Revisited in Race Talk On-line'.
  32. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 13.
  33. ↑ Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 49.
  34. 1 2 Human Rights Commission 2012, p. 16.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.