This report presents and discusses the findings of a qualitative study of the needs of Pacific peoples who have been victims of three types of crime: Violence, Family Violence and Property Offences. The study, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice with support from the Health Research Council, was designed to provide qualitative information to complement the quantitative information provided by the second New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 2001.
Purpose
The lack of research data on the needs of Pacific peoples who have been victims of crime was
a key rationale for the present study. The research aimed to:
- Gather in-depth information to increase and enhance our knowledge of Pacific peoples who were victims of crime;
- Ascertain the use and appropriateness of informal and formal support services for Pacific victims of crime;
- Identify health-related needs and appropriate measures to meet those needs; and
- Identify appropriate support mechanisms provided by criminal justice sector agencies.
Methodology
The study involved five main phases:
Phase 1: Developmental Phase and Application to the Human Ethics Committee
Phase 2: Pilot Study
Phase 3: Main Study
Phase 4: Data Analysis and Report Writing
Phase 5: Dissemination of Results
Phase 1 focused specifically on the appointment and training of a team of Pacific researchers from each of the six main Pacific ethnic groups in New Zealand (i.e. Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau and Tonga) based in Auckland and Wellington; the development of interview questions in consultation with the Advisory Group which was set up by the Ministry of Justice for this study; and obtaining human ethics approval for this study.
The main purpose of Phase 2 (the pilot study) was to ascertain the effectiveness of the interview schedule and Pacific theoretical frameworks (i.e. Tivaevae, Fa’afaletui, Kakala models) and data collection techniques used for this study. Ten victims of Family Violence and Property Offences participated in the Pilot Study. The results of the Pilot Study led to a decision to adopt two methods of recruitment for the Main Study. First, to use the names gained through the 2001 New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims, who had consented to participate in this study. Second, the researchers were asked to recruit participants from their own community networks and/or through Pacific service providers.
Phase 3 (the Main Study) focused on individual interviews with a sample of 90 (54 females and 36 males) Pacific peoples ranging between the ages of 16 and 84 years. The research sample included 36 Samoans, 16 Cook Islanders, 15 Tongans, 12 Niueans, 6 Tokelauans and 5 Fijians. The interview questions addressed four key areas:
- Nature of the crime;
- Impact of the crime;
- Needs of Pacific victims and the use and appropriateness of the support services; and
- Victims’ experiences in the criminal justice system.
The above key areas were used to frame the analysis of the interview data and the preparation of this Final Report during phase 4. This Final Report marks the completion of phase 4 and signals the beginning of Phase 5. The fifth phase will involve the researchers returning to each of the participants and presenting a summary of the key findings from this study.
Limitations of the Study
One of the limitations of this study is that it involved a small sample of 90 Pacific participants from Auckland and Wellington. Another limitation is that the study involved only three types of crime: Violence, Family Violence and Property Offences. Moreover, not all ethnic groups were represented in all three types of crime targeted for the study. Given the limitations of the research sample, the findings should not be used to generalise to the wider Pacific or ethnic populations. Despite the limitations of the study, the results provide significant information and important insights into the needs of Pacific peoples who have experienced crime, their experiences of the support services and the criminal justice system, the effectiveness of these support systems in meeting their needs, and the impact of the crime on them as individuals and their families.
Key Results
Nature of the Crime
• Pacific males in the study were more likely to be victims of Violence. Eleven out of 13 cases (i.e. 85%) of Violent Offences involved male participants. These offences were more likely to occur at night, in a public place such as a pub, nightclub or a bar, involve alcohol, and more likely to remain unreported to the Police.
• Females in this study were more likely (63%) to be victims of Family Violence. The incidents reported by these participant were more likely to be part of ‘on-going’ domestic violence. The offenders were more likely to be their male partners and of the same ethnicity. Injured victims of Family Violence were less likely to seek medical attention.
• Property Offence cases were equally distributed between theft from the home (21 cases), and theft of or from a motor vehicle (20 cases). Like Family Violence offences, Property Offences were more likely to occur in the home (73%); and were the most likely type of crime to be reported to the Police.
Impact of the Crime
• The physical impact, as measured by the number of participants who were injured, was more likely to happen to victims of Violence and Family Violence. Of the 38 participants who suffered some form of injuries, the results revealed a tendency for female victims of Family Violence not to seek medical attention and to deal with the injuries themselves. Their desire to protect their male partners was a major determining factor in their decisions not to seek medical attention.
• Victims were also likely to be emotionally and spiritually affected by the offending. Seventy-six (i.e. 84%) of the participants indicated that they were emotionally (i.e. 34%) or emotionally and spiritually (i.e. 50%) affected by the offences.
• The social impact of the crimes was more pronounced in victims of Family Violence. In total, 60% of the participants suggested that they had been socially affected by the crime.
• Sixty-one percent of the participants were affected financially. Victims of Property Offences were more likely to be in a position to estimate this financial impact.
Needs of Victims of Violence
Based on the experiences and retrospective views of a relatively small sample of 13 participants, the results showed the following key areas of needs for victims of Violence:
- Assistance from the bystanders at the scene of the crime is required as this has an impact on the seriousness of the injuries received by the victims;
- Need to seek medical attention for injuries suffered from acts of violence; and
- A need for victims to allow security staff in the public places to deal with offenders.
Needs of Victims of Family Violence
A review of other studies focussing on Pacific Family Violence revealed that the present study had a reasonably higher sample of 34 Pacific victims of Family Violence, representing the six main Pacific ethnic groups. The findings indicate that victims of Family Violence were at different stages of dealing with the impacts of the violence inflicted by other members of their families. The following include the key areas of the needs of Pacific victims of Family Violence:
- Need for safety and housing for victims and their children;
- Need to acknowledge that Family Violence is unacceptable although it might be considered by victims as culturally appropriate within their own families;
- Appropriate programmes aimed at eliminating domestic violence must involve the Pacific male offenders;
- Financial support for themselves and their children once victims decide to leave abusive and violent relationships;
- Appropriate counselling services and support from Pacific services organisations or Pacific staff in Victim Support agencies; and
- Advice and appropriate information on victims’ legal rights and the types of support systems and mechanisms offered by the criminal justice sector agencies.
Needs of Pacific Victims of Property Offences
The results showed the following as the key areas of need for victims of Property Offences:
- An immediate response from the Police to their telephone call to report the crime, together with feedback from the Police on progress and/or lack of progress with their cases; and
- Appropriate counselling for family who might feel unsafe, worried and scared about their safety in their homes.
Appropriateness of Support Services
The results suggest that diverse forms of services are required to meet the needs of Pacific victims of crime. The nature and seriousness of the crime impacted on the needs of victims, and their subsequent help-seeking behaviours. Victims of crime sought assistance when they believed that outside help was needed.
- The most effective forms of informal support, used by a total of 59% of participants, were ‘family’, ‘family and friends’ and ‘friends’.
- In general, there was a lack of information on the different types of formal support services available to participants and consequently the study revealed a general lack of utilisation of formal support services.
- The most frequently-used formal support services were Victim Support, medical centres or emergency departments in hospitals, and Pacific service providers.
- The participants identified more information on support services and the legal justice system as the kind of support that they would like to have received.
- Provision of, and access to, Pacific Social Services, and more Pacific staff in this area of services who could speak their language in other formal support services was the most frequently-recommended support service, made by more than half of the participants.
- The results also revealed the need for improved services by the Police in three areas. These include the availability of the Police to attend the crime scene; the need for a prompt response to their reporting of the crime, particularly in the cases of FamilyViolence; and the need for the Police to keep victims informed about the progress of their cases.
Victims’ Experiences in the Criminal Justice System
- Sixty-two percent of the participants (i.e. 38 out of 61) who had the involvement of the Police found them accessible and were satisfied with the effectiveness of the Police response. About 38% were dissatisfied with the Police, citing delays in responding to their telephone calls and lack of information during the process of their cases as the key reasons for their dissatisfaction with the Police.
- The study also showed that the participants lacked experience with the court system and/or an awareness of the use of restorative justice. Although the data on restorative justice was very limited, the few cases reported by the victims have important implications for the success of meetings set up to address the needs of Pacific victims.
Needs of Pacific Victims of Crime
Taken together, the results suggest that the needs of Pacific victims of crime fall into five main categories:
- Physical and safety;
- Financial;
- Cultural and social;
- Emotional and spiritual needs; and
- Information and feedback from Police.
To effectively address the needs of Pacific victims of crime, one of the key recommendations from this study is the provision of Victim Support services by Pacific for Pacific people and the employment of more Pacific staff in the Victim Support and criminal justice agencies.