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A conference paper on Rape in Aotearoa, New Zealand in the newspapers between the span of 1975–2015 is presented. It discusses the current scenario of silencing and objectification of women covered in various range of media forms including newspapers, women's magazines and pornography. The author presents his views regarding the representation of rape in newspaper articles and the language usage that objectifies women.

This article uses two counselling practitioner-researchers' personal responses to journal writing as a therapeutic vehicle. They presented a version of this article at the New Zealand Association of Counselling Research Conference in Christchurch in 2008. When the authors met, as counsellor educator and student, they recognised a mutual interest in the therapeutic potential of personal journal writing. Using writing as inquiry, the two co-researchers began writing short observations of their individual experiences to help them reflect on how feminisms had influenced their thinking and writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003 has resulted in Aotearoa/New Zealand being in a unique position internationally in terms of the regulation of sex work. In this paper, I provide an overview of the history of sex work in Aotearoa/New Zealand leading up to and subsequent to the passing of the PRA. Underlying this overview are theoretically informed discussions considering how discourses of heteronormative sexuality result in sex work being gendered in particular ways, and how different models of regulating prostitution reflect different ideological and political concerns, and have different outcomes. The specifics of the gendering of sex work means that these understandings and outcomes have particular effects on women. While the interests of women are thus prioritised in recent theorising and, in some instances, in the regulation of prostitution, it is apparent that what is considered to be in 'women's interests' varies. I conclude by suggesting that while the PRA may not challenge the gendered nature of the industry, it protects the immediate interests of the women who work within it. This paper is intended to serve the dual purpose of providing the reader of this special issue of the Women's Studies Journal with some relevant background, and giving students interested in the area -- especially those in Aotearoa/New Zealand - a starting point for their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'FeminEast' is a feminist club that was founded by students at Wellington East Girls' College in 2013. At the time of writing, the club's popularity is growing and has attracted attention from national media. This paper reports on a pilot study based on conversations with FeminEast co-founder Jess Dellabarca and analysis of media texts by and about the club. The author contextualises FeminEast in a neoliberal climate, focussing on the neoliberal discourse usually called 'postfeminism', the widespread belief that feminism is no longer needed because we have achieved gender equality. This paper foregrounds efforts by FeminEast's leaders to mobilise feminist anger and contend with contemporary gender norms and postfeminist discourse. These efforts are discussed particularly in relation to the 2013-2014 'Roast Busters' scandal. FeminEast members adeptly navigate postfeminist social dynamics; ultimately, they succeed in developing and disseminating their view that the Roast Busters are a product of persistent and pernicious rape culture, a key weapon of contemporary patriarchy. This paper shows that girls can and do engage activistic practices that are more worthy of scholarly attention than the dearth of recent research on girls' activism would suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist critics of the mythopoetic men's movement (MMM) have argued that the MMM de-politicises and reinforces gender inequalities. This paper revisits these 1990s critiques, acknowledging their value, and also identifies concepts of gender that cut across the MMM and particular feminist legacies. Specifically, it shows that the MMM and certain strands of feminist thought share binary and essentialist gender constructs, which remain broadly influential today and arguably hamper the common goals of shifting culturally dominant gender ideologies in (neo) liberal social contexts. Research is lacking in New Zealand (and elsewhere) on contemporary manifestations of the MMM, and on feminist responses to and engagements with it. This paper draws on preliminary fieldwork, including recent conflictual conversations amongst MMM participants and feminist activists in New Zealand, in order to signal and to challenge middle-class, Pākehā, and heteronormative standards that are persistently embedded in universalising assumptions about gender identity. In an 'age of difference' for both women and men, the paper also identifies alternative and diversifying concepts of gender that could support more productive dialogue. The analysis is underpinned by an international body of feminist literature supporting poly-vocal, intersectional, and multi-layered accounts of identity wherein gender is one discourse and category of experience among many. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender and ethnicity are recognised as two of the leading axes of marginality in late twentieth century western liberal democratic societies -- the former emerged in the wake of Second Wave feminism of the 1970s and the latter, with the rise of 'identity politics' in the 1980s and 1990s. Both have similarities. As categories of disadvantage, their basis is 'natural' in that the complex webs of social and political organisation, and consequent disadvantages, based on gender or ethnicity can be traced to physiology, that is, differences in either skin colour or sex. These are also, as Nancy Fraser (1997) points out, 'bivalent categories' of disadvantage in that gender and ethnicity display simultaneous discriminations in areas of resource allocation (Redistribution) and as socially acceptable identities (Recognition). Here, however, the common trajectory followed by these social markers ends. Drawing on the changing nature of society and governance in New Zealand, the present paper argues that the differences between gender and ethnicity, rather than their similarities, expose fundamental attributes of contemporary marginality in increasingly diverse western democracies. This paper advances the following proposition (and contradiction): in the past decade, ethnicity and diversity as an axis of social division has gained credibility and has markedly influenced political, economic and social (re)organisation in New Zealand, while in contrast, it has proven harder to justify gender as structural disadvantage. Thus, while the boundaries of 'gender' are ruptured, porous and, at moments, open to erasure, 'ethnicity' has coalesced to become a new, valid, and increasingly relevant border of social inequity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journey mapped herein is based on a women's studies conference paper written and presented in 1999 (Waitere-Ang & Johnston, 1999) . When we (Hine and Trish) wrote the paper, we worked together in Te Uru Marau-rau: the Department of Māori and Multicultural Education at Massey University. A decade later Hine works in the Masters of Educational Administration Programme at Massey and Patricia is a professor and the Head of the Graduate School at Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiārangi, a 'Indigenous University" in Whakatane. Engaging the original paper we create a reflexive dialogue in which we work to connect tacit knowing to explicit knowledge (Cunliffe, 2002). As we re-enter a conversation that decried the absence of mana wahine in institutional spaces, uppermost in our thinking as we look back and talk forward is the question -- what has changed for us? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to look at the contexts of meanings that surround Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) in practice, particularly for issues of gender justice. At the heart of the paper is a critical appraisal of one EEO event; an example drawn from the New Zealand public sector where claims to 'gender disadvantage' is made by an employee and responded to by the agency to which the claim is made. The event is representative of an instance where all parties are equally claiming the need to further EEO and fairness. By deconstructing the language and context of EEO in practice, the paper argues the point that EEO policy is not implemented in discursively uncontested contexts. At a substantive level, the paper builds on feminist theoretical perspectives of social justice, and questions if the contemporary frameworks of meaning in the public sector can support transformations of relationships of disadvantage. More pertinently, it asks if the "removal of unfair disadvantage", on which EEO strategies are based, constitutes the promotion of social and gender justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite strong legislative protection, sexual harassment is still prevalent in New Zealand and thus remains an impediment to the full achievement of women's human rights as well as undermining the mental and physical well-being of a woman. This paper focuses on sexual harassment in New Zealand universities. Universities are a critical part of modern society not just for teaching and research but also as a place where new generations of leaders will emerge. We undertook a survey of New Zealand university websites to test and compare the ease by which a student who thinks they may be experiencing sexual harassment, could find out about the policies and support services available to them. We highlight the failings found with many websites and make recommendations for improving access to this vital information. We argue that comprehensive sexual harassment information must be made more visible to prevent the acceptance and normalisation of sexually harassing behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, New Zealand passed the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), becoming the first country in the world to decriminalise sex work. Aotearoa/New Zealand's model of decriminalisation is internationally regarded as an ideal model for prioritising sex workers' rights and safety, and is understood to have had several positive impacts in these areas. The decriminalised model is often described as 'full decriminalisation', to distinguish it from legal frameworks which decriminalise sex workers while still criminalising clients and/or third parties. However, an infrequently discussed aspect of the Aotearoa/New Zealand model of 'full' decriminalisation is that it prohibits migrant sex work as an anti-trafficking measure. In this paper I discuss the contradictory nature of Aotearoa/New Zealand's sex work law in relation to the precarious legal status of migrant sex workers. I explore the disconnect between the intention and consequences of this policy, outlining the challenges this poses for sex workers, and those committed to the full realisation of sex worker rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations (UN) has long been seen as one of the world's most influential organisations in the movement for gender equality. The UN is unique in its ability to produce binding inter-governmental normative frame-works which have led to legislative and policy reform at the national level, including in New Zealand. The UN has also played an important role through its research, advocacy and programmes. However, during the 2000s many gender equality advocates became increasingly concerned with the gap between policy and practice and the significant weaknesses within the UN system. In particular, the UN has been criticised for providing inadequate resourcing, capacity support and senior-level espousal for its gender architecture. In New Zealand, UNIFEM's weak presence and low capacity to provide technical support to the government and visible advocacy exemplifies the UN's past inability to support gender equality at the national level. It is hoped that the recent establishment of UN Women in January 2011 will alleviate many of the issues related to the UN's gender architecture and signal a new era for the UN's work on gender equality. This paper explores the core reasons for the imperative reform of the UN's gender architecture. The paper then analyses whether UN Women has the necessary scope and funding to address the UN's past failings and deliver tangible results. A strong UN agency with country-level capacity in New Zealand would ill a gap within New Zealand civil society for a leading specialist organisation for gender equality that not only supports governmental and civil society efforts in New Zealand, but also contributes to equality within the wider Pacific community. Therefore the paper then outlines steps for action for New Zealand civil society organisations to ensure that UN Women lives up to its potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural Safety is a significant nursing discourse in the nursing education curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, when nurses graduate and begin working in different practice settings it is only one of several competing discourses they negotiate in their daily practice. Cultural Safety, which is based on privileging the knowledge of the person who is being cared for, becomes a point of conflict within an environment where discourses of traditional nursing care and medicine compete. In this paper we examine how power relations are played out in practice settings by registered nurses who at times struggle to implement cultural safety knowledge in their work practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques the work of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, using its own publications and website, evaluations of others, and my analysis and experience as a lesbian feminist economist and academic, who worked two years for MWA in 1989 and 1990. It outlines international literature on state feminism and its recent history, with MWA's survival as an independent entity being atypical. Examining MWA's effectiveness from a variety of viewpoints, it discusses the tightrope it has to walk as a policy department responsible to the Minister and government of the day committed to neoliberal policies but with strong perceived community group stakeholders. I argue that the constraints have inevitably resulted in feminists and their community organisations being often dissatisfied with MWA's work and the partially disappointing outcomes for women. My examples come largely from the labour market and unpaid work, my main areas of expertise, together with MWA's attention (or lack of it) to lesbian issues. The paper concludes by looking at the current situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that a women's studies epistemology is the most productive way of developing hypotheses about the factors attracting an increasing number of women to machine gambling. It uses a women's studies approach of listening to and reflecting upon the significance of 'anecdotal' evidence which may otherwise be overlooked or dismissed. It explores the growth of machine gambling and problem gambling among women in New Zealand from 1990 and suggests that a similar pattern may develop in Britain in the future. This paper observes that forms of 'equal chance' gambling have few barriers to participation by groups excluded from other forms of opportunity. The New Zealand experience of a rapid growth of gambling activity among women suggests that where lotteries and gambling machines have become easily accessible, they have led to a rapid development of new markets among groups to whom they offer an equal chance to become a 'winner'. These forms of gambling do not discriminate. Participation may be perceived as the only opportunity some groups have of participating in an economic activity with an equal chance of success. It is argued that this may be particularly potent where participation is encouraged by the way the mode of gambling is designed, and when it is supplied from convenient locations which offer some safe opportunities for social interaction. Reflecting on anecdote and observation, a new hypothesis is proposed about why women gamble and the modes of gambling they prefer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on universal basic income (UBI) policy for feminists and its revival in several parts of the world. The article also highlights the current scenario of the welfare system and the rise in inequality in Aotearoa, New Zealand particularly among women and children. The article lists the background and rationale of the policy that includes living income for all, poverty alleviation and reduction of poverty traps.

When a couple has a baby, one of the first significant decisions they make is who will be primarily responsible for care of that baby. Biological considerations, social norms, a range of policies, and various other structural factors have an impact on how parents make decisions regarding the care of their new-born babies, with outcomes that can be significantly gendered. In this paper, I examine the ways in which 12 Pakeha middle class heterosexual couples who were first-time parents made decisions regarding who would be their babies' primary carer, and how much leave each person would take, when their babies were born. Among those with different income levels, their decisions were rationalised on the basis of this difference. However, among those with roughly equivalent incomes, other reasons were given, including breastfeeding. In all but one case, the couples conformed to normative gendered roles, with the mothers taking extended leave and being the babies' primary carers for the first year. The effects of this on both mothers and fathers are discussed, with mothers feeling both satisfaction and constraint, and fathers being framed as 'helpers' in some instances. I conclude with suggestions as to how parental leave policies might be structured so as to minimise the 'motherhood penalty' and allow for greater gender equity in parenting, while also meeting the needs and preferences of parents themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been substantial research conducted in New Zealand over the last 20 years into prostitution, there has been no enquiry into the lives of strippers, strip clubs or the striptease industry in general. Yet, women who take their clothes off for a living are a discrete group in the sex industry with distinct motivations who occupy a different habitus to prostitutes or pornographic actresses. This paper, based on undergraduate research, is a review of international literature pertaining to strippers from the year 2000 onwards. The review revealed that, in contrast to the research conducted on the industry before 2000, current feminist scholarship has moved away from a polarised narrative of stripping work as either oppressive or emancipating. Instead, recent research has been concerned with the complexities of the occupation of stripping for young women, both in the workplace and in their wider lives. In particular, this study identified four dominant thematic areas where current research was focused: (a) othering (or the differentiation of strippers from other women); (b) sexualisation (self-worth as based on their sexuality); (c) gender performance (stripping on a spectrum of femininity), and (d) emotional work (stripping work and its emotional demands). In summary, it would seem that the strip-club is a site of both oppression and resistance, a space where women can use their sexual power for financial gain if they are willing to make compromises at work and in their personal lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a growing body of research that claims that there is a link between abortion and mental health problems among women. While there is extensive critique of this research, there is less of an understanding of the wider social and political implications of disseminating the idea that women who have abortions are mentally troubled. This paper examines the political and performative effects of this body of psychological research that represent abortion as pathological and those who seek it as needing legal protection, focusing particularly on the context of New Zealand. A two-fold critique is developed: first, I look at the political implications of this research; namely, the way that anti-abortion groups in New Zealand have used this research to galvanise support to restrict access to abortions. Second, I also consider its performative impact, in terms of the ability for such research to be constituted as 'truth', edging out alternative explanations of women's heterogeneous experiences of abortions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003, New Zealand became the first country to implement a full decriminalisation of street and in-house prostitution, nationwide. As few New Zealanders have direct regular contact with prostitutes, the media has a strong role in shaping public discourse in relation to the sex industry. Using Foucauldian inspired poststructuralist analysis, from a critical feminist perspective, this paper investigates the representation of prostitution in the New Zealand print media before and after the passing of the PRA. Newspaper articles from 2000 to 2013 were analysed to identify key discursive constructions of the PRA, prostitution, sex workers, and other key players in the New Zealand sex industry. The main representations identified in the data were adult or child street prostitution, those who sell sex were always depicted as women (or girls) and those who buy sex, as men. Discussions of men who buy sex were noticeably absent, except in coverage of men who had been violent towards sex workers and men who bought sex from children. Inhouse prostitution was depicted as a more legitimate profession than street prostitution and the (street) sex worker was portrayed in disparaging ways. We conclude that although New Zealand has decriminalised prostitution, visible sex worker activity on the street continues to be deplored, due to its violation of various codes of traditional femininity and female sexuality. The media also work to individualise issues related to the sex industry, which require a more social, structural, and economic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from my doctoral research on the medical management of intersexuality in New Zealand, as well as the type of support for intersex New Zealanders and their families. Specifically, I discuss the implications of New Zealand's small population on both medical management and undertaking research on what can be considered a rare condition and sensitive topic respectively. One such implication is that clinicians in New Zealand hospitals encounter a smaller number of intersex births compared to Australia, for example, and therefore have little experience or awareness of intersex conditions. Another implication is the difficulty of maintaining confidentiality in a small population. In New Zealand, providing anonymity is difficult compared to larger-populated countries such as the USA. I also discuss poststructuralist theorising about power structures in society -- particularly in New Zealand, where there appears to be a connection amongst every New Zealander. And while New Zealand boasts about being an accepting, egalitarian nation, my findings show that judgemental attitudes towards a lesser-known condition still exist in parts of New Zealand society. I argue that New Zealanders' connectedness contributes to maintaining power structures to silence and isolate individuals for the fear of being found out -- because their anatomies do not meet societal assumptions of male and female (binary) norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While literary analysis of Witi Ihimaera's The uncle's story (2005 [2000]) has predominantly focused on the novel's male, homosexual protagonists Sam and Michael, this article intends to put centre stage the minor, but nonetheless innovative, and highly diverse female characters of Auntie Pat, Roimata and Amiria. The complex negotiations of modern and traditional attitudes, sexualities and ethnicities, Māori heritage and Pākehā ideologies that play out with regard to these fictional personae will be taken into consideration, hence opening up a scholarly space and a potential fictional point of reference for the heterogeneity of Māori women's life worlds in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand. Implementing the rather novel research paradigm of intersectionality in literary and cultural theory and combining it with New Zealand-specific cultural concepts, this paper aims at spiralling in and out of the complexities and intricacies of fictional representations of Māori women's identities -- focusing thus, on the auntie's story in The uncle's story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring for people with dementia remains gendered with women still expected to undertake much of the paid and unpaid caring work in the community. This study draws on survey and interview data collected from 48 women community workers in Alzheimers Societies throughout New Zealand. Through the lens of the women community workers the gendered expectations about paid and unpaid work are revealed. The paper argues that cultural ideas about gender differences in caring abilities have implications for women and men as the population ages and the dementia 'epidemic' impacts in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite second wave feminist campaigns like 'Girls can do anything' women scientists still find that juggling career expectations with family responsibilities presents a major barrier to their full participation. History shows that scientific values and culture have been created by and for men and that women and minority groups are expected to fit in with pre-existing norms; separation of personal and professional lives should be maintained. Drawing on auto/biographies, a review of feminist science studies literature and oral history interviews with women scientists in Aotearoa/ New Zealand this paper shows that femininity and science have invariably been viewed as mutually exclusive and that the 'two body problem' is one that just 'won't go away'. Interviews reveal that women who 'succeed' as scientists are either childfree or have someone who is prepared to share family responsibilities. For most women in science, and increasingly men too, there is a continual challenge between balancing quality of life with career success. Obsolete gender norms are now commonly rejected by involved mothers and fathers, both of whom crave family-friendly policies that do not penalize them for 'doing too much childcare'. Mentoring, leadership programmes, affirmative action and work/family balance have limited utility. If true equity is to be achieved, then fathers need to share family responsibilities equally and the culture of science must change to accommodate diversity. The spotlight needs to be removed from women and focused instead on transforming science culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including contemporary feminist thought in New Zealand, coping and resilience among women in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, and the representation of bisexuality in popular culture.

The Cartwright Report was published by the New Zealand government in 1988. It presented the findings and recommendations of a judicial inquiry into allegations that women with cervical carcinoma in situ had been untreated or under-treated in the course of medical research at national Women's Hospital. The allegations arose in an article called 'An Un fortunate experiment at National Women's Hospital' authored by Phillida Bunkle and Sandra Coney. The recommendations included through reform of medical and research ethics. These popular reforms are usually regarded as feminist achievements and significant ethical millstones. A book by Professor Linda Bryder published internationally in 2009 and 2010 questions the reality of the 'experiment', the findings of the Cartwright inquiry and argues that the recommendations made little contribution to changes already underway within medicine. This article draws on the records of the inquiry, particularly the case histories of the women involved to refute Linda Bryder's arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing employee access to paid parental leave (PPL) is an important step to achieving gender equity in higher education. Although Aotearoa/New Zealand has recently increased PPL to the 26 weeks recommended by the World Health Organisation, the level of payment is capped at below minimum wage. For parents working or seeking to work at universities in Aotearoa/New Zealand, information about the PPL policies of these workplaces is essential for informed decision-making. This article reviews the PPL policies of the eight universities in Aotearoa/New Zealand, analysing these in terms of structural work-life support and cultural work-life support. The authors contribute autobiographical reflections to supplement the policy analysis with examples of real-life effects of the policies that are reviewed. The article finishes with a set of recommendations that would enhance employee wellbeing at universities in Aotearoa/New Zealand, including expanding access to leave and removing both gendered language and requirements to repay leave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does decolonising white feminism really mean in Aotearoa/New Zealand? How can our Muslim communities contribute to this project, and to what extent is Aotearoa/New Zealand 'ready' to confront the experiences of 'othering' and marginalisation that so many Muslim women absorb on a daily basis? This interview with Anjum Rahman provides first-hand insight into these issues, as well as an exacting and uncompromising analysis, as told through Anjum's irrepressible political life story of triumph and struggle, of what decolonising white feminism in this country might look like. The interview (conducted by Kirsten Locke) took place in December 2019 at the Shama Ethnic Women's Trust centre in Hamilton, an organisation that Anjum has been involved in at a governance level and is currently managing a project hosted by this organisation. Shama, as it is commonly known, is a charitable trust that offers holistic and comprehensive support to ethnic minority women in the Hamilton area through workshops, individual and community support, and advocacy at all levels for ethnic women who may also be recent migrants. From this most appropriate of settings, the following interview traverses Anjum's views on contemporary feminism in Aotearoa/New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I employ an autoethnographic lens to look at the evangelical Christian purity movement, which I experienced within my high school and church in Aotearoa/New Zealand. To frame my discussion, I focus on two best-selling books by evangelical Christian writer Dannah Gresh: Secret keeper: The delicate power of modesty (2002) and also And the bride wore white: Seven secrets to sexual purity (2012). Both of these books were reverentially passed around my school and church circles as though they were sacred scripture. My analysis of Gresh's writing and evangelical purity culture does not arrive without an agenda, but comes with a plea to end abstinence-only sex education and purity teachings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the evolution of lesbian identity in the Auckland lesbian community from the early-mid 1970s until the early 2000s, exploring how it changed in response to the emergence of the queer community. The primary sources for this article are oral history interviews conducted in August 2019 with Rosemary Ronald and her daughter Shae Ronald, two generations of lesbian women who have lived their adult lives in Auckland, actively participating in the Auckland lesbian community. Through sharing their memories of this community and its significance in their lives, Rosemary and Shae offer readers a glimpse into the richness and complexities of lesbian history (or herstory) in Aotearoa/New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victims of sex trafficking are known to be at risk for a wide range of adverse outcomes globally, but sex trafficking is commonly believed not to happen in Aotearoa/New Zealand. New Zealand has a robust legislative framework to safeguard people doing sex work; the work itself is decriminalised, and trafficking legislation disallows exploitative behaviour. However, this trafficking legislation is under-utilised, and domestic sex trafficking has attracted no prevention efforts from the government. While initiatives to assist identification and intervention are common practice internationally, they do not exist in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using online qualitative surveys, I sought to examine frontline medical and social service practitioners' perspectives of and experiences with domestic sex trafficking. The results indicated varied experiences of contact with victims, and numerous problematic interpretations of victims' presentations and of the concept of trafficking. Specifically, definitions of trafficking appeared ambiguous and outdated, and respondents commonly conflated 'trafficking' with other phenomena such as sex work, sexual violence, or family violence. I conclude that trafficking and victimhood discourses arguably texture people's conceptualisations of what constitutes sex trafficking, illustrating the need for a clear shared definition of sex trafficking as it manifests in a domestic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective played a lead role in the development of sex work policy and law in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This commentary examines the Collective's experience and observations in working with the law at a practical and theoretical level. It addresses successes as well as areas that need improvement to uphold the aims of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article briefly describes the context of women's drinking and alcohol policy in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the methodology of interviewing service providers about the impacts of women's alcohol consumption. It then analyses the views of 40 health and social welfare professionals about their perceptions of alcohol-related harms to women. It describes three spiralling factors that these workers perceived as both causing and resulting from women's drinking and the impacts on their staff and sectors of women's alcohol-related trauma. The study concludes that gender analysis is essential in addiction research and that qualitative research with experienced service providers may be a useful element in evaluating changes in social policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has been active in Aotearoa/New Zealand for 100 years, working for peace and security through challenging the causes of war and its root causes of violence, while working to dismantle structures of gendered power - patriarchal, economic, political, and military. Geographically positioned in the south-west Pacific, WILPF Aotearoa has grown over the decades into a clear sense of Pacific identity and is now part of an extensive Asia/Pacific region in WILPF's regional structure. In this reflection, we look to our formative influences, examine how our organisation currently functions - locally and internationally - and consider what might serve us well for the future in Aotearoa/New Zealand. We draw on current International Vice-President Catia Confortini's analysis of a feminist critical methodology and the tool of 'feminist compassion' in the development of WILPF as an international organisation. We acknowledge, as our foremothers did, that our work will always require 'the most strenuous and adventurous effort of mind and spirit'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canterbury earthquakes and the rebuild are generation-defining events for twenty-first century Aotearoa/New Zealand. This article uses an actor network approach to explore 32 women's narratives of being shaken into dangerous disaster situations and reconstituting themselves to cope in socially innovative ways. The women's stories articulate on-going collective narratives of experiencing disaster and coping with loss in 'resilient' ways. In these women's experiences, coping in disasters is not achieved by talking through the emotional trauma. Instead, coping comes from seeking solace through engagement with one's own and others' personal risk and resourcefulness in ways that feed into the emergence of socially innovative voluntary organisations. These stories offer conceptual insight into the multivalent interconnections between resilience and vulnerabilities and the contested nature of post-disaster recovery in Aotearoa/New Zealand. These women gave voice to living through disasters resiliently in ways that forged new networks of support across collective and personal narratives and broader social goals and aspirations for Aotearoa/New Zealand's future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to an invitation to contribute to an ongoing special feature on contemporary feminist thought in Aotearoa New Zealand, the author provides an overview of a number of strands or sites of feminist critical engagement with the law, such as the efficacy of equality theories and rights discourse. She applies aspects of the internationally developed theoretical work (primarily from the United Kingdom, North America and Australia) to specific local substantive and procedural criminal law examples, such as the regulation of family violence and the prosecution of sexual offending. The author then examines how criminal law and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand has been reformed as a result of feminist discussion, theory and analysis over the last 30 years and through at least three 'waves' of feminism. The piece concludes with the author's observations on both the added value of feminist legal theory to date, as well as reflections on its potential to inform the development of policy and law reform during the next 30 years, and as a consequence of the work of another generation of feminist legal scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the marginalized societies and cultural disparities in Aoteaora, New Zealand. The minority community including Māori, ethnic migrant and refugee groups, women, and disabled groups is mentioned. Also mentioned is the involvement of citizens in policy and political process that is referred as public engagement, direct citizen participation and user participation.

The article offers information on the use of dating application Tinder by bisexual women of Aotearoa in New Zealand. The use of the application that is primarily used by heterosexual people and not by the queer community is mentioned. The article offers information on interviews of bisexual women who engage in Tinder app discussing their dating lives, and their sexuality.

The article offers information on child support within the pacific community of Aotearoa, New Zealand. It discusses the rate of sole parenthood in pacific community and child support entitlements. The article outlines the interviews with Pacific mothers who are eligible to receive child support. The financial support by fathers that facilitates a positive relationship between the father and child is mentioned.

The article offers information on sexual violence in minority communities focusing on evidences of high rates of sexual violence and assaults in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The article mentions the lack of data related to sexual violence mentioning the data recorded in non government organisations (NGOs). The reporting behavior related to sexual violence of ethnic women due to cultural beliefs and practices is mentioned.

In 2012, Kristine Bartlett, an aged care worker, and the Service and Food Workers Union took a claim for equal pay for work of equal value under New Zealand's Equal Pay Act 1972. They claimed that Kristine's skills, responsibility, service and conditions of work were undervalued because caring for the elderly is done almost entirely by women. The last pay equity case, for clerical workers in 1986, was rejected, making Bartlett vs Terranova an important test of New Zealand law. In August 2013 the Employment Court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs on questions of law, allowing gender neutral job comparisons with work done by males outside the female-dominated care sector. This article aims to make the arguments in this case -- on interpreting the text and historic purpose of the Act, consistency with human rights legislation and compliance with international conventions -- available to a wider audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes are rare hereditary conditions conferring a potentially high risk of cancer over a woman's lifetime. Technological developments over the past 15 years mean that it is now possible for some individuals to define their own cancer risk, and to take steps to manage this risk. International research has suggested that most women cope well with the knowledge of their risk in the long term. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews, and a narrative, thematic approach to the data analysis were used to explore the experiences and stories of thirty-two Pakeha New Zealand women who carry a BRCA mutation or who have a high risk based on their family history of cancer. 'Getting on with it' emerged as a dominant theme, as the way in which the majority of the participants in this study approached the risk. 'Getting on with it' appears to be a deeply entrenched social, cultural and gendered expectation in New Zealand, perhaps influenced by both neo-liberal governance and the women's movement. This article explores the way in which this group of women use the idea of 'getting on with it' as a coping strategy to manage their risk and live their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, across many jurisdictions, empirical research has replicated the concerns of women complainants in rape cases. In New Zealand the reforms of the mid-80s have still not significantly addressed the distress felt by those who are just witnesses for the prosecution with very little protection from often harsh and unnecessary cross-examination. The 2006 acquittal of three police officers charged with historical sexual offending put trial process reform in rape cases back on the political agenda. In this short piece, some of the possible reforms that may yet assist those women who take the stand are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a critical feminist perspective on New Zealand's HPV immunisation programme. The programme, delivering the HPV vaccine to young women, has been progressively rolled out since September 2008 and heralded as a major development in cervical cancer prevention and women's health more generally. However, the programme has also been the subject of fierce debate, for both its context and the strategies used in its implementation. Women's health advocacy groups have been highly critical of aspects of the programme's implementation. Concerns have included the gendering of sexual health responsibility by targeting the vaccine only at young women; the disregard of consumer rights to informed choice and consent in the marketing of the programme; and the failure to integrate the programme with the National Cervical Screening Programme which risks undermining the life saving success of cervical screening in New Zealand. This article demonstrates the importance of careful and consultative programme planning and decision making to ensure population health policies deliver the best health outcomes to women. There are lessons to be learned from New Zealand's approach to introducing the HPV vaccine which demonstrate the continued importance of the contribution of critical gender perspectives in the development of health policy more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses several issues raised by social scientists regarding the contribution of sociological research to bioethics, the activities of bioethicists themselves in the social construction of bioethical concerns, and the relationship between the public and bioethicists in establishing and maintaining public trust in medical and scientific research. The primary aim of the article is to demonstrate the value of social science research that investigates peoples' lived experience of modern biomedicine and innovative technology for bioethical debate. In order to do this, we offer snapshots of our research undertaken with New Zealanders from two separate studies respectively informed by phenomenology and the sociology of bioethics. The first study, which focuses on how people experience their self-identity and embodiment in organ donation and transplantation processes as fundamentally intersubjective and social, suggests why phenomenology should be incorporated into contemporary bioethical approaches deliberating issues about the body. The second study, which examines the value of lay perspectives in public engagement with bioethics, draws on research about women's decision-making regarding prenatal screening, to offer critical comment on bioethics as a social, cultural, and intellectual event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexuality education in schools has been identified by a number of feminist scholars as a space of 'roaring silence' around not only young women's sexual desire but also its inability to deliver a critical education that challenges constraining sexuality discourses. In this article we provide a critical analysis of sexuality education in New Zealand/Aotearoa that traces the historical, socio-political and educational contexts of its delivery. Our critique uses a feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis to identify the discursive resources employed in policies and practices related to the provision of sexuality education. We also present material from a focus group study that investigated students' perceptions of the delivery of four different sexuality education programmes by way of illustrating versions of sexuality education in practice. Our examination of sexuality education in New Zealand/Aotearoa currently and historically suggests that policy is dominated by a safer sex/victimisation discourse that spills over into schools' delivery of sexuality education. The educational context similarly appears to constrain the content of sexuality education through its assessment requirements. Within such constraints we argue that a feminist sexuality education that nurtures girls' sexual agency may be barely possible. On the other hand, encouragement can be taken from the students' recognition of a need for more of the 'good' aspects of sex and from the opportunities for challenging some of the dominant discourses of sex that may be provided by a feminist educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the ways in which the film Untouchable Girls mediates the apparent contradiction between the Topp Twins' representation as paradigms of "New Zealandness", and their cultural status as yodelling lesbian twins. Utilising Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, it draws particular attention to the deployment of discourses of authenticity to legitimate Jools and Lynda Topp's performances and misperformances of identity. Through the characters of Ken and Ken, for example, the Topp Twins demonstrate an unquestionable fidelity to the inaugurating discourses of "New Zealand masculinity" while simultaneously disturbing the gender performance that such discourses might usually effect. What this article suggests is that Untouchable Girls, and its attendant publicity, is dominated by an insistence on the particularity of "New Zealand" as a cultural context willing to celebrate its own contradictions, and the Topp Twins as performers uniquely able to utilise those contradictions for potentially subversive ends. It argues that the film demonstrates that the Topp Twins' "authenticity" enables them to insist upon the ways in which their subversive confusions are to be read, and to potentially reveal and reconstitute a queer paradox as integral to New Zealandness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that the responsibility for freeing women, men and society from abuse lies primarily with communities supported by institutional and state resources and policies. It relates that a study among Maori and Pacific women between 1997 and 2002 has confirmed the role of gendered inequity in the violence against women. An overview of progress in the New Zealand government's approach to address violence against women is presented.

The article argues that the responsibility for freeing women, men and society from abuse lies primarily with communities supported by institutional and state resources and policies. It relates that a four-year study among Maori and Pacific women has confirmed the role of gendered inequity in the violence against women. An overview of progress in the New Zealand government's approach to address violence against women is presented.

The article offers information on work and care regimes focusing on the the subject of gender and class in Aotearoa, New Zealand. It discusses the significance of work and care regime that helps in perceiving, operationalising and valuing care as work. The article focuses on the paid and unpaid work and the gender distinctions surrounding it. The value of care work that is associated within the realm of domestic contexts and work without pay is discussed. Gender biasness in care work is offered

The article focuses on feminist struggle in Aotearoa, New Zealand in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries focusing on the work of Society for Research on Women (SROW).