Taitamariki māori kōrero about prevention reclaiming and applying te ao māori principles

Violence prevention and violence within young people’s intimate partner relationships does not receive the same attention within research, policy, or practice as does violence in adults’ relationships. Even less attention is paid to Indigenous youth and their intimate partner relationship well-being, including taitamariki Māori. This presentation reports on a study carried out with taitamariki Māori and Kuia and Kaumatua in Te Tai Tokerau.  This presentation shares taitamariki Māori kōrero about their intimate partner relationship well-being framed in te ao Māori.  Highlighting their beliefs on consent, sexual coercion and the role of gender in preventing both sexual and physical violence within their relationships - providing te ao Māori principles which could assist in the development of a taitamariki Māori violence prevention framework developed from a kaupapa taitamariki worldview. Kaupapa Māori methods were used to gather knowledge from taitamariki Māori that supported their cultural agency and will be discussed. Separately, learnings from Kuia and Kaumātua were also gathered and will be discussed, about cultural (pre-colonial and contemporary) concepts that could guide current-day (re) constructions of gender and sex. These findings were brought together to investigate whether the relevance of te ao Māori understandings, for present-day taitamariki and their whānau, has the potential to inform violence prevention initiatives, and enhance taitamariki Māori relationship decision-making and well-being.