Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has weighed in on Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson's comments "white cis men" are the main perpetrators of violence in the world.
Davidson, who is the Minister for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, made the comments on Saturday after attending a rally to oppose Posie Parker.
Davidson was approached by a person from far-right website Counterspin and was asked what she thought about Parker being "violently assaulted" — having tomato juice tipped on her.
Some are now calling for the Green's co-leader to resign, Political Editor Jessica Mutch McKay reports. (Source: 1News)
Davidson said she and those with her — which included fellow Green MP Jan Logie — were "here to reject the violence and hate of transphobia".
She went on to say: "I am a prevention violence minister, and I know who causes violence in the world. It is white cis men... who cause violence."
"Cis" is short for cisgender, which is the opposite of transgender. The term relates to a person whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth.
Cisgender does not mean heterosexual. It relates to gender identity, not sexuality.
Today, Davidson walked back her comments, saying her comments lacked clarity, and she was in shock due to having been hit by a motorcycle half an hour before.
She said violence was unacceptable in "any community".
Her comments had followed calls for her resignation as a minister from the ACT and NZ First parties.
In his post-Cabinet media conference Hipkins said Davidson's words were not ones he would choose and "not what she meant to say".
He said it was important to consider the context of her statements, which followed having been hit by a motorcycle, as well as "basically being harassed by a right wing conspiracy group as she went down the road".
"I don't expect perfection from people and particularly not when they've just experienced a trauma like that."
He said he had not spoken directly with Davidson about her comments but his office had spoken to hers and recommended she clarify her comments.
"I think the point she was trying to make was that the majority of sexual violence in New Zealand is conducted by men, and that our transgender community are often the victims of that.
"I think that's a perfectly appropriate thing to point out, there are facts to support that, clearly those are not the words she chose to use."
He said he did not believe "bringing race" into the debate was "particularly helpful".
"The ethnicity data paints a more complicated picture than that sweeping statement suggests."
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