title: Breaking the web of silence: An exploration of Chinese women's experience of domestic violence in New Zealand

authors: Gee, Linda

subjects: Domestic Violence

abstract: Domestic violence is a serious social issue within New Zealand society. Asian immigrant women with domestic violence experiences often face specific socio-cultural challenges and barriers that hinder them from making sense of their experience, seeking help and accessing necessary intervention. In New Zealand, there is limited domestic violence research which focuses on the lived experience of women in Asian immigrant communities. 
This research attempts to fill this gap by exploring Chinese women’s experience of domestic violence in New Zealand. It explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the context of family, community and immigration and the impact of violence on Chinese women’s health and well-being. It examines the cultural and gendered factors which shape Chinese women’s experiences and their help-seeking strategies. This research identifies barriers facing the women when they seek help from their informal and formal support networks. It also examines, from the Chinese women’s perspective, the role of the Chinese community and statutory and community-based services in offering effective intervention to Chinese women. 
Five case studies based on semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Chinese immigrant women’s experience of domestic violence. 
The findings suggest that Chinese immigrant women are particularly vulnerable in domestic violence situations and the abuse has long term psychological implications for women’s health and wellbeing. Traditional cultural beliefs and gender role expectations add extra potency to the husbands’ power and control tactics over the women and their social support. Abused Chinese women are typically socially isolated. The multidimensional analysis shows that a combination of individual, interpersonal, cultural, contextual, and structural and community factors impact on Chinese immigrant women’s ability to make sense of the violence and abuse and to employ help-seeking strategies. Majority of the women in this study utilised a mixture of formal and informal intervention. When the abusive situation reaches crisis point, they prioritised seeking help from informal support networks. Although the women’s faith served as a coping strategy when dealing with the abuse, at other times, the women were re-victimised by religious leaders and faith community members. A safe and trusted community space is needed for Chinese women to share their experiences without being seen in a negative manner by outsiders. Community initiatives need to focus on community education and intervention that offers adequate assistance and support to Chinese women in domestic violence situations. Overall, the women had positive experiences when accessing various formal interventions. However, specific challenges and barriers that the women faced were also identified and discussed. Throughout their experiences, Chinese women gained critical consciousness and discovered positive strategies that helped them to heal from the abuse. 
This research provides recommendations for an integrated, co-ordinated and collaborative approach and community response to address domestic violence in the Chinese community. It also calls for culturally safe and culturally competent family violence services which meet the specific needs of Chinese women and their families.

text: Breaking the web of silence: An exploration of Chinese women's experience of domestic violence in New Zealand Domestic violence is a serious social issue within New Zealand society. Asian immigrant women with domestic violence experiences often face specific socio-cultural challenges and barriers that hinder them from making sense of their experience, seeking help and accessing necessary intervention. In New Zealand, there is limited domestic violence research which focuses on the lived experience of women in Asian immigrant communities. 
This research attempts to fill this gap by exploring Chinese women’s experience of domestic violence in New Zealand. It explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the context of family, community and immigration and the impact of violence on Chinese women’s health and well-being. It examines the cultural and gendered factors which shape Chinese women’s experiences and their help-seeking strategies. This research identifies barriers facing the women when they seek help from their informal and formal support networks. It also examines, from the Chinese women’s perspective, the role of the Chinese community and statutory and community-based services in offering effective intervention to Chinese women. 
Five case studies based on semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Chinese immigrant women’s experience of domestic violence. 
The findings suggest that Chinese immigrant women are particularly vulnerable in domestic violence situations and the abuse has long term psychological implications for women’s health and wellbeing. Traditional cultural beliefs and gender role expectations add extra potency to the husbands’ power and control tactics over the women and their social support. Abused Chinese women are typically socially isolated. The multidimensional analysis shows that a combination of individual, interpersonal, cultural, contextual, and structural and community factors impact on Chinese immigrant women’s ability to make sense of the violence and abuse and to employ help-seeking strategies. Majority of the women in this study utilised a mixture of formal and informal intervention. When the abusive situation reaches crisis point, they prioritised seeking help from informal support networks. Although the women’s faith served as a coping strategy when dealing with the abuse, at other times, the women were re-victimised by religious leaders and faith community members. A safe and trusted community space is needed for Chinese women to share their experiences without being seen in a negative manner by outsiders. Community initiatives need to focus on community education and intervention that offers adequate assistance and support to Chinese women in domestic violence situations. Overall, the women had positive experiences when accessing various formal interventions. However, specific challenges and barriers that the women faced were also identified and discussed. Throughout their experiences, Chinese women gained critical consciousness and discovered positive strategies that helped them to heal from the abuse. 
This research provides recommendations for an integrated, co-ordinated and collaborative approach and community response to address domestic violence in the Chinese community. It also calls for culturally safe and culturally competent family violence services which meet the specific needs of Chinese women and their families.

year: 2016

title: Environmental offsets and water resource opportunities with Lake Onslow pumped storage

authors: Karaminik, Yasaman Maryam

abstract: As part of its transition toward an aspirational goal of 100% renewable electricity generation, New Zealand had been investigating an option of replacing the need for dry-year fossil fuel power generation with the world’s largest pumped storage scheme by energy storage measure. The scheme was to be located at Lake Onslow in the southern South Island. It would have an energy storage capacity up to 5 TWh for a construction cost of 16 billion dollars. However, the 2023 change of government means the scheme is not presently under active evaluation. Evaluation may well be restarted with a subsequent change of government, depending on party policy. 
While aiding emission reduction, there would be local environmental impact from expanding the existing Lake Onslow reservoir, which will flood over nearby wetlands. 
This study considers a range of potential environmental mitigation measures that might counterbalance the scheme's ecological impact. Consideration is also given to the large water volume in the Onslow reservoir potentially able to act as insurance against future extreme regional droughts that may arise from climate change.
The possible offsets include the restoration of two existing scenic hydro storage lakes – Lake Monowai and Lake Hawea. An argument is made that the large amount of new hydro storage capacity at Lake Onslow means that the relatively small storage contributions of these two lakes no longer justifies their inundation environmental impact. This would start a change in national thinking because to date no hydro storage lake in New Zealand has been restored for purely environmental reasons. 
In addition to lake restoration, discussion is also presented about the possibility of a hypothetical partial flow restoration of the depleted Waiau River. It was New Zealand’s second largest river by discharge prior to diversion into the Manapouri power station. It is tentatively suggested that new wind power in Southland buffered by Onslow pumped storage would enable partial closure of the Manapouri station, restoring about half of the original flow the lower Waiau River downstream of Lake Manapouri. 
Onslow water storage would involve cubic kilometres of water, so some water could be used to offset extreme droughts without impeding pumped storage energy functionality. A narrow-diameter rock tunnel could also be constructed between the expanded Lake Onslow and the Dunedin city water intake at Deep Creek. This would make Dunedin drought-resilient against climate change because presently the city water supply is derived just from small local catchments with little storage.
Some Onslow water might also be used to maintain water flow of the eastern Otago Taieri River in an extreme drought. However, this would raise cultural and ecological issues that would need to be considered prior to any water release.

text: Environmental offsets and water resource opportunities with Lake Onslow pumped storage As part of its transition toward an aspirational goal of 100% renewable electricity generation, New Zealand had been investigating an option of replacing the need for dry-year fossil fuel power generation with the world’s largest pumped storage scheme by energy storage measure. The scheme was to be located at Lake Onslow in the southern South Island. It would have an energy storage capacity up to 5 TWh for a construction cost of 16 billion dollars. However, the 2023 change of government means the scheme is not presently under active evaluation. Evaluation may well be restarted with a subsequent change of government, depending on party policy. 
While aiding emission reduction, there would be local environmental impact from expanding the existing Lake Onslow reservoir, which will flood over nearby wetlands. 
This study considers a range of potential environmental mitigation measures that might counterbalance the scheme's ecological impact. Consideration is also given to the large water volume in the Onslow reservoir potentially able to act as insurance against future extreme regional droughts that may arise from climate change.
The possible offsets include the restoration of two existing scenic hydro storage lakes – Lake Monowai and Lake Hawea. An argument is made that the large amount of new hydro storage capacity at Lake Onslow means that the relatively small storage contributions of these two lakes no longer justifies their inundation environmental impact. This would start a change in national thinking because to date no hydro storage lake in New Zealand has been restored for purely environmental reasons. 
In addition to lake restoration, discussion is also presented about the possibility of a hypothetical partial flow restoration of the depleted Waiau River. It was New Zealand’s second largest river by discharge prior to diversion into the Manapouri power station. It is tentatively suggested that new wind power in Southland buffered by Onslow pumped storage would enable partial closure of the Manapouri station, restoring about half of the original flow the lower Waiau River downstream of Lake Manapouri. 
Onslow water storage would involve cubic kilometres of water, so some water could be used to offset extreme droughts without impeding pumped storage energy functionality. A narrow-diameter rock tunnel could also be constructed between the expanded Lake Onslow and the Dunedin city water intake at Deep Creek. This would make Dunedin drought-resilient against climate change because presently the city water supply is derived just from small local catchments with little storage.
Some Onslow water might also be used to maintain water flow of the eastern Otago Taieri River in an extreme drought. However, this would raise cultural and ecological issues that would need to be considered prior to any water release.

year: 2024-03-18

title: Will access to COVID-19 vaccine in Aotearoa be equitable for priority populations?

authors: Whitehead, Jesse

abstract: AIM: This research examines the equity implications of the geographic distribution of COVID-19 vaccine delivery locations in Aotearoa New Zealand under five potential scenarios: (1) stadium mega-clinics; (2) Community Based Assessment Centres; (3) GP clinics; (4) community pharmacies; and (5) schools.
METHOD: We mapped the distribution of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population and the location of potential vaccine delivery facilities under each scenario. Geostatistical techniques identified population clusters for Māori, Pacific peoples and people aged 65 years and over. We calculated travel times between all potential facilities and each Statistical Area 1 in the country. Descriptive statistics indicate the size and proportion of populations that could face significant travel barriers when accessing COVID-19 vaccinations.
RESULTS: Several areas with significant travel times to potential vaccine delivery sites were also communities identified as having an elevated risk of COVID-19 disease and severity. All potential scenarios for vaccine delivery, with the exception of schools, resulted in travel barriers for a substantial proportion of the population. Overall, these travel time barriers disproportionately burden Māori, older communities and people living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.
CONCLUSION: The equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is key to an elimination strategy. However, if current health services and facilities are used without well-designed and supported outreach services, then access to vaccination is likely to be inequitable.

text: Will access to COVID-19 vaccine in Aotearoa be equitable for priority populations? AIM: This research examines the equity implications of the geographic distribution of COVID-19 vaccine delivery locations in Aotearoa New Zealand under five potential scenarios: (1) stadium mega-clinics; (2) Community Based Assessment Centres; (3) GP clinics; (4) community pharmacies; and (5) schools.
METHOD: We mapped the distribution of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population and the location of potential vaccine delivery facilities under each scenario. Geostatistical techniques identified population clusters for Māori, Pacific peoples and people aged 65 years and over. We calculated travel times between all potential facilities and each Statistical Area 1 in the country. Descriptive statistics indicate the size and proportion of populations that could face significant travel barriers when accessing COVID-19 vaccinations.
RESULTS: Several areas with significant travel times to potential vaccine delivery sites were also communities identified as having an elevated risk of COVID-19 disease and severity. All potential scenarios for vaccine delivery, with the exception of schools, resulted in travel barriers for a substantial proportion of the population. Overall, these travel time barriers disproportionately burden Māori, older communities and people living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.
CONCLUSION: The equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is key to an elimination strategy. However, if current health services and facilities are used without well-designed and supported outreach services, then access to vaccination is likely to be inequitable.

year: 2021