The intersection of domestic violence, culture, social marginalisation and entrapment for Indigenous Women

The safety of Indigenous women and children was once the communal responsibility and obligation of everyone. Yet today, Indigenous women who have histories of colonisation have higher prevalence rates of domestic violence leading to severe injury and death than non-Indigenous women living in their respective countries. Prior to colonisation, Indigenous knowledge forms indicate the relative absence of domestic violence amongst their family and tribal structures and rapid/harsh consequences for transgressors. Today, not only are Indigenous women entrapped in relationships by partners' strategies that involve coercive control, but also the systems, structures and practices designed to keep them and their children safe. Using research with Māori women (Indigenous women of Aotearoa, New Zealand), this chapter explores the unique position of Indigenous women experiencing domestic violence and living on the ‘margins of the margins’ in societies constructed by colonialism. The intersecting forces of cultural values, beliefs and practices, intergenerational and historical trauma and violence, and entrapment are discussed.