How did Covid-19 affect community relationships in New Zealand and what lessons can we learn for future?

Community focus.

How did Covid-19 affect community relationships in New Zealand and what lessons can we learn for the future?

Covid-19 has had a significant effect on family relationships in the New Zealand community. It not only changed how people lived but also exposed many social and emotional challenges. These changes have dramatically changed family life and relationships. This essay will discuss how Covid-19 altered people's lives in Aotearoa, focusing on the effects of lockdowns, and loneliness, mental health, and family violence during the pandemic.

In 2020, New Zealand experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, which took away many lives and changed family life and relationships. It also increased violence and mental health issues (Graham-Harrison et al.,2020). The Government announcement about the first lockdown in March 2020 brought potential impact on family relationships. When schools closed, parents had to take care of their children’s education at home, which led to increased child abuse. This happened because families spent the whole day together in small houses or apartments often with little space or privacy. As a result, children were isolated and had less contact with teachers and social workers the people who usually notice and report abuse. Moreover, social isolation increased stress and tension at home, which put vulnerable families even more at risk. For some families it was hard to work from home and do schooling at the same time. Relationships were broken and people became depressed. Unfortunately, many women suffered from family violence and were locked in unsafe houses. Instead of reporting it, they were afraid and kept silent, especially when support services were limited by lockdown. In severe cases suicide and alcoholism also occurred.

Covid-19 pandemic not only reshaped daily life in New Zealand but also exposed deep social issues, such as family violence and mental health struggles. In New Zealand family and sexual violence was already high before the Covid-19 pandemic (Te Puna Aonui, 2024). Moreover, during the lockdown the risk increased because many people were trapped in unsafe homes. Even though some help services stayed open, access become very difficult because schools and hospitals were closed. The Government provided emergency funding to reduce harm, but it was not enough to meet all needs. Covid-19 also had a significant impact on people’s mental well-being. Most people experienced some distress in the short term, but for others it became a serious mental health problem. Recovery may take years, as research shows that psychosocial recovery may last up to ten years. Young people especially had a significant increase in distress after 2020 (Ministry of Health, 2020). Many of them faced uncertainty about their future, education, and social life. This shows the importance of providing strong mental health and social support for young in future crises.

Māori communities and vulnerable groups faced particularly severe consequences during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had higher hospitalisation and death rates from Covid-19 and higher risks of family violence were reported during the pandemic. The government invested more than 900 million dollars to support Māori jobs and housing, but many issues remained. In addition, disabled people faced serious disadvantages. Access to healthcare was difficult due to staff shortages and 24% of people could not see a GP. Many disabled people were already socially isolated and Covid-19 restrictions made this worse. As a result, older generations were the most vulnerable in the pandemic. According to Otago University (March 2020), around 89% of deaths were among those over 60 years old. The government made vaccination a priority for older people, but many still suffered from loneliness and isolation during lockdowns when families could not visit them.

The pandemic also placed enormous pressure on family relationships and gender roles. No one saw a pandemic coming, and that is why most research started only after the Covid-19 crisis had already begun. Parents experienced more stress in important areas such as money, work, health, and children. Also, stress from the pandemic harmed family life and led to worse communication in relationships. Emotional distress made relationships weaker between parents and children during isolation. Moreover, during the lockdown women carried most of the parenting and housework responsibilities, which created tension in families. Couples agreed that the division of domestic labour was unfair. Gender-role attitudes whose fathers believed they should have more authority predicted even more conflicts. Fathers who felt powerless during lockdown also had difficulty connecting with their children. For many families, this time changed relationships forever (Overall et al.,2012).

The Covid-19 pandemic taught people many important lessons. It showed how essential communication impact our community in New Zealand. One of the fist lessons was the importance of strong mental health care, as many people struggled with stress, isolation, and uncertainty. The second lesson was the need for better social support systems, especially for vulnerable groups such as women, children, Māori communities, and the disabled. From this situation, we can learn the value of clear communication and connection within families and communities, because staying connected helped people cope and recover.

In conclusion, both the government and local communities need to give more attention to mental health services, financial help, and strong support systems for families. Protecting women and children from domestic violence should be a priority, since they were among the most vulnerable during the pandemic. Māori, older people, and disabled people suffered the most, often struggling with loneliness, depression, stress, and unsafe living conditions. In the future New Zealand must have a strong communities and family connections are vital in time of crisis. By investing in mental health, social support, societies can be better prepared for national emergencies.

References

Cabinet Paper. (2020). Action plan for family violence and sexual violence in response to Covid-19, https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/Proactive-Releases/proactive-release/Action-plan-for-family-violence-and-secual-violence-in-response-to-COVID-19.pdf

Graham-Harrison, E., Giuffrida, A., Smith, H., & Ford, L. (2020, March 28). Lockdowns around the world bring rise in domestic violence. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/28/lockdowns-world-rise-domestic-violence

Overall, N. C., Henderson, A. M. E., Low, R. S. T., Chang, V. T., McRae, C., & Waddell, N. (2021, August 11). Family risk and resilience during COVID-19 lockdown. Royal Society Te Apārangi. https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/research/family-risk-and-resilience-during-covid-19-lockdown/

Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. The New England Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510–512. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8317552/#B38

Royal Commission. (2020). What happened: social impacts and responses,

https://www.covid19lessons.royalcommission.nz/reports-lessons-learned/main-report/part-two/6-5-our-assessment-social-sector-impacts-and-responses#header-6.5.4

Wilson, N., Barnard, L.T., Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. (2020, March23). Potential Health Impacts from the COVID-19 Pandemic for New Zealand if Eradication Fails: Report to the NZ Ministry of Health. Ministry of Health.

https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2020-03/report_for_moh_-_covid-19_pandemic_nz_final.pdf