can better cultural understanding reverse the trend?
With summer here, families and tourists will flock to New Zealand's beaches, rivers and lakes to paddle, swim, surf, fish, boat and kayak. But despite our love of the water, New Zealanders have a terrible record of drowning deaths.
Last summer was the worst year for drownings in a decade. Our ten-year average beach and coastal drowning rate is 44 percent per capita higher than Australia's. According to Water Safety NZ chief executive Daniel Gerrard, "Drowning is the leading cause of recreational death and the third-highest cause of accidental death."
The data also reveal that Asian and Māori communities are over-represented in both fatal and non-fatal drownings.
New Zealand research suggests Western approaches to water safety have not worked for Māori. Water safety educators and advocates are now working to strengthen the connection Māori have with water through whakapapa (genealogy), mātauranga (knowledge) and tikanga (custom).
Link to article: Too many Māori and Asian people are drowning – can better cultural understanding reverse the trend? | RNZ News
