Findings from the New Zealand Health Survey have shown that more than one in three Māori (37.6%) experience racial discrimination over their lifetime. This includes ethnically motivated personal attacks, as well as unfair treatment in healthcare, employment or housing. The proportion of Māori experiencing racial discrimination in the past 12 months increased from 10.8% in the 2011/2012 survey to 13.8% in the 2020/2021 survey, and was increased further when Māori women were analysed separately (9.7% to 16.8%). Verbal abuse was the most common type of racial discrimination in the 12 months before the 2020/2021 survey. Racial discrimination was associated with higher rates of psychological distress, lower rates of good to excellent self-rated health, and higher rates of unmet need for primary healthcare. The authors noted that data was based on self-reported experience, and that individuals may under-report episodes of racial discrimination.
