The rise and rise of online abuse has led to the hāpori of Hauraki to hold dedicated wānanga so whānau can tool up to counter the escalating threatening and predatory behaviour that’s occurring on the web.

Netsafe and Te Pūkotahitanga, the tangata whenua rōpū advising the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, Hon. Karen Chhour are supporting the specialist briefing at the whare of Te Whāriki Manawāhine o Hauraki tomorrow.

Recently the NGO hosted a conversation with the Chief Censor’s Office about extreme online content.

“Bullying is a big one for us in Hauraki, so I believe that the need to wānanga is evident given most people's lack of awareness about what online abuse actually is,” says Denise Messiter, Chief Executive of Te Whāriki Manawāhine o Hauraki.

“Because we're now being so socialised into complicitly using online - whether it's Facebook or Tiktok - we don't always recognise what online violence might look like in our own lives or how dangerous the environment actually is.”

“The extent and the reach of social media, and the propensity for abuse gives us cause for concern particularly for our wahine, rangatahi, tamariki and mokopuna so we need to counter it with measures of control to be safe,” she said.

Amokura Panoho co-Chair of Te Pūkotahitanga and Poutaki Mātauranga Māori of Netsafe will present information that for some may be alarming like the lengths sexual predators go to trying to groom mokopuna tamariki by cloning their profiles to entrap them into abuse like pornography.

“My presentation is about how to empower Māori communities and enable them to understand the critical issues. We’ll look at where our traditional values and collective vigilance can be applied plus what free online tools by Netsafe are available,” Amokura said.

She sees this as a chance to harness the strengths of Māori indigenous knowledge with community action to create stronger online safety strategies. Educating whānau about the risks of sharing photos of their mokopuna, she aims to empower Māori families, ensuring they are not left vulnerable to the misuse and manipulation of their imagery.

Amokura will shed light on the current online landscape in Aotearoa, explaining why wahine Māori and whānau who engage in discussions on contentious issues or celebrate te ao Māori often become targets of racist attacks.

She’ll outline the legal protections offered by the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, available support mechanisms for those facing online abuse, and crucial culturally responsive strategies for safeguarding tamariki and mokopuna in the digital world.

“The online world is very complex and constantly involving, so the tactics that are used to exploit the trust and naivety of our whānau are becoming more and more sophisticated,” she said.

Holding the tech companies and social media platforms accountable is fundamentally critical Amokura believes.

“It is important to create a stronger regulatory environment in Aotearoa. Our government's decision to walk away after scrapping the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms (SOSMP) project was a lost opportunity.”

A number of the tech giants were actively engaging with the initiative that started in June 2021 and finished in May 2024.

According to the government website its official purpose was “to improve the regulation of online services and media platforms to boost consumer safety for all New Zealanders, with a particular focus on minimising content harms for children and young people”.

“The effect of discontinuing that project is it’s left a regulatory gap, so the reality means we now rely heavily on the tech companies voluntarily regulating their platforms.”

“This doesn't address the unique vulnerabilities of young children, our mokopuna, our elderly, and other marginalised communities because we need a structured approach that compels platforms to adhere to safety standards.”

“My argument is Māori have to be actively involved in the development of those safety standards,” Amokura said.

Denise adds that the wānanga aligns with local, regional and national aspirations tackling violence. She is also a member of Te Pūkotahitanga who are advocating for government to respond to the rising concern of online harm under Te Aorerekura, the national strategy for eliminating family violence and sexual violence.

“At a local level on the ground here at Te Whāriki Manawāhine o Hauraki we support whānau to heal and recover from the impacts of sexual violence.”

“Education like this also embodies the purpose of Te Aorerekura through various ‘shifts’ for change that support the strategy working out in community,” Denise said.

“Shift One is about supporting communities to mobilise using evidence-based information, Shift Two is about building a skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforce, and Shift Four is about investing in primary prevention.”

The wānanga is from 10.30am-2.30pm at Te Whāriki Manawāhine o Hauraki whare situated above the BNZ on Sealey Street and opposite the Hauraki PHO in Thames.

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