Whakapapa

There have always been respected Takatāpui and Rainbow kaimahi working inside family and sexual violence movements. While feminist services have often explicitly acknowledged the needs of lesbians, historically there have been gaps in knowledge and support for wider Takatāpui and Rainbow populations. Sandra Dickson, a Pākehā bisexual gender non-conforming woman working in these sectors since the early 1990s, highlighted these needs in Tauiwi national roles at Women’s Refuge and TOAH-NNEST, and as with other kaimahi with Takatāpui and Rainbow belongings, often acted as a bridge to services and the police for many Takatāpui and Rainbow survivors.

In early 2015, Sandra approached many Takatāpui and Rainbow people, including those working inside the specialist violence sectors, to ask our communities about partner and sexual violence and help-seeking experiences. Supported by a small grant from the Ministry of Social Development under the umbrella of peak youth body Ara Taiohi, the group developed a national survey and carried out community hui all over Aotearoa. They named the mahi Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura – Outing Violence to reflect both Māori and Tauiwi worldviews.

Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura asks us to cultivate peace after conflict through strengthening equitable social networks and relationships – with partners, families, whānau and wider communities. Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura invites our communities to respect one another for all that we are.

Outing Violence names all kinds of violence towards Takatāpui and Rainbow people as unacceptable. Victorian British values brought here through colonisation enshrined ideas about bodies, genders, relationships and family structures that frame violence towards us in Aotearoa, including inside our relationships, hook-ups, families and whānau.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura – Outing Violence carried out 18 community hui, facilitated by Elizabeth Kerekere and Sandra Dickson. They were hosted by Otago University Queer Support in Dunedin; Q-Topia in Christchurch; Q-Youth in Nelson; Gisborne community; OUTlineNZ in Auckland; Agender and OUT@ AUT in Auckland; Shakti and Equasian in Auckland; Rainbow Youth in Auckland; Village Collective and Te Kaha o Te Rangatahi in South Auckland; LoveLife Fono in Auckland; Whangareinbow in Whangarei; Multicultural Mash in Hamilton; Link House in Hamilton; MALGRA and YOSS in Palmerston North; New Zealand Prostitutes Collective in Wellington; Inside OUT and Outer Spaces in Wellington; Tiwhanawhana and Box Events in Wellington; and Out in the Park in Wellington.

The lived experiences from these hui and the national survey were shared back via a community report, the first in Aotearoa to highlight experiences of partner violence, sexual violence and help-seeking for Takatāpui and Rainbow communities. We mihi to the largely voluntary mahi from those involved over 2015/16, including Duncan Matthews; Elizabeth Kerekere; Fetu-o-le-moana Teuila Tamapeau: Kassie Hartendorp; Moeawa Tamanui-Fransen; Rachel Fabish; Sam Orchard; Sandra Dickson, Sandz Peipi; Siaosi Mulipola; Tabby Beasley; Tamara Anderson; Te Ahi Wi-Hongi and Trevor Easton.

In 2017, Sandra completed three more reports based on community requests, focused on the needs and experiences of trans and gender diverse people; bisexual and pansexual people and disabled Takatāpui and Rainbow people. Safety planning and other resources and research were freely available for survivors, communities and the violence sectors via the website.

In 2021, after increasing requests for help from survivors and training and professional development from family and sexual violence services, Bex Fraser began approaching Takatāpui and Rainbow community members and allies with violence expertise to safely progress this mahi with intent and integrity. Initially based in the Waikato but later expanding further, the rōpū began meeting regularly to work through structures and governance, and work in partnership with other community groups where there was alignment in values. We give mihi to this foundational rōpū: Bex Fraser, Cayathri Divakalala, Kathleen Miller, Lee Page, Maluseu Monise, Maria Cristina Rodriguez Rojas, Oriana Brown, Raukawa Newton, Ruby Johnson, Sandra Dickson, Scarlet Bennett and Taniya Smith.

In 2022, Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura became a registered charity led by co-chairs Kathleen Miller and Scarlet Bennett, with an embedded Te Tiriti structure, including processes for separate decision-making, resourcing and accountabilities for Tangata Whenua and Tauiwi caucuses. We also embedded a formal commitment to be led by the needs of survivors, mindful that those causing harm in Takatāpui and Rainbow communities may hold social or structural power.

Today, we offer services, programmes, research and training unique in Aotearoa, led by our Board co-chairs, Josh McNally and Scarlet Bennett and our Kaihautū / Executive Lead Bex Fraser. We have a small staff team, many dedicated volunteers, and wonderful contractors including a national network of therapists and social workers who contribute to our mahi. We deliver our training and education services with Takatāpui and Rainbow co-facilitators to model the partnership we believe is needed to address violence in Aotearoa.        

The different parts of our name are not equivalent, and because we found many people would default to using only the English part of our name, we usually refer to ourselves as Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura.      

The words we use

Takatāpui is an ancient Māori term to embrace culture, spirituality, and connection to whakapapa. It has many meanings for iwi and hapū, traditionally meaning “intimate partner of the same sex.” In contemporary times Takatāpui has been reclaimed to denote all those with diverse sex characteristics, gender identities and expressions and sexualities as well as Tangata Whenua identity.

Rainbow is the umbrella term we use for sex, sexuality and gender diversity. We use Rainbow because it is recognised inside our communities, avoids listing English initials which leave out some identities, and allows for fluid diversity. In Aotearoa it can be inclusive of Māori, Pacific and ethnic identities.

Takatāpui and Rainbow communities include people with innate sex characteristics that do not fit normative medical or social ideas for male or female bodies; people who have a gender identity or expression that does not match the sex they were assigned at birth, including people who do not fit typical binary gender norms; and/or people who are not heterosexual.

Rainbow relationships are any relationships that include at least one person from Takatāpui and Rainbow communities. This might include two women, two men, different gender relationships with at least one asexual+, bisexual+ or gender diverse person, or poly relationships involving at least one person from Takatāpui and Rainbow communities.

Rainbow whānau are any families or whānau with Takatāpui and Rainbow family members. This might include children, rangatahi, parents, kaumātua or kuia, uncles, aunties, siblings or anyone else! Takatāpui and Rainbow people are part of the whānau, and as the world becomes more accepting of human diversities, including through decolonisation, we are more likely to feel comfortable and safer to share about who we are.