Marama Pala Gay maori men are amongst those a small HIV peer support and advocacy organisation hopes will come forward with any stories that have of discrimination based on their ethnicity and HIV status. Representatives of Tirau-based INA yesterday met with a small group of HIV positive Maori gays to explain that their stories are needed to be included in a Treaty claim initially lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal in 2008. The INA delegation, headed by Marama Pala, who featured in a recent Maori TV documentary about having HIV, said Maori are particularly at risk of dsiscrimination due to poor levels of understanding about HIV at whanau and iwi levels. Pala says many of the community, support and and government institutions which HIV-positive Maori people deal with are insensitive to their needs. Stories from the floor included being coerced by WINZ into disclosing HIV status at a public counter, ostracisim by family members and a lack of education programmes focussed on the particular needs of Maori. One man recounted addressing a group of mainly maori workers at a North Island timber town and being roundly abused by the gathering. Another said his family's homophobia, which he says is all too common amongst Maori, made coming to terms with his HIV status incredibly difficult. "We want people with HIV and those indirectly affected by HIV to come forward to us with their stories," says Pala. "We intend to clearly show how the government has failed Maori people with HIV." Such a failure is one of the core criteria for being able to progress a claim, she says. INA can be contacted through the link below to its website.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 22nd May 2012 - 12:12pm