Hear Our Voices: Experiences of Family Planning Services by Tongan Women in South Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Access to family planning services have been widely accepted worldwide as a basic human right. However, findings from a study that involved 12 Tongan females in South Auckland, New Zealand reported that Pacific women were less likely to use available family planning services due to cultural taboo and sensitive reasons. This becomes a breach of basic human rights especially as Pacific women (including Tongan) have one of the highest rates of unplanned pregnancy in New Zealand. The purpose of this article is to present the key findings from a study that was undertaken in 2015 as part of the primary author’s Masters in Public Health degree from the University of Auckland. The key findings from the study indicated the complex and multifaceted barriers to accessing family planning due to cultural and social factors including embarrassment, stigma, taboo subjects, anga faka Tonga and inter-generational conflict. Differences in cultural views and expectations regarding pre-marital sex and abstinence between the West and anga faka Tonga points towards the need for improved awareness of family planning services irrespective of marital status. Improving communication between daughters and their mothers (or trusted female figures within the family) and providing culturally safe services were identified as key strategies to improving access to family planning services.