Many families had kept quiet about the discrimination suffered because of principled acts of bravery by their loved ones in defying the call to arms, Prof Tolich said.
He wants to detail how such families experienced the consequences of being labelled a ‘‘conchie'' family during the two world wars, and how they continued to experience these today.
‘‘These men followed an internal conviction to do what is right, often at great personal cost to themselves and their families,'' he said.
By WW1's end, 273 conscientious objectors were in prison in New Zealand for refusing to serve, and 2600 lost their civil rights. This included being denied voting rights for 10 years and being barred from working for government or local bodies, he said.
During WW2, 800 of New Zealand's 5000 conscientious objectors were labelled ‘‘military defaulters'' and interned behind barbed wire in specially-built camps in remote parts of the country. After release, they also were denied the right to vote for 10 years.
Prof Tolich, of the university sociology, gender and social work department, is inviting people to share their stories by contacting him at the department.
He is also canvassing interest in holding a two-day truth and reconciliation ‘‘conversation'', which would be similar to recent community events in Ireland.
The gathering was likely to take place in October next year in Dunedin and begin with oral or written submissions on the first day, followed by a service of reconciliation on the second.
He was prompted to pursue the initiative after hearing the stories of families present at the 2014 fundraising launch for a monument to former Dunedin resident Archibald Baxter, who was New Zealand's most well-known conscientious objector.
Conscientious objection was ‘‘living history'', and he had been hearing stories about ‘‘grandfathers, fathers and brothers who had taken a stand of conscience'', he said.
Prof Tolich, who is an internationally-respected ethicist, said the stories showed there had also been ‘‘collateral damage'', involving family members who had been ‘‘forced by neighbours and the wider community to bear witness to these actions''.
Prof Tolich had gained approval from the Otago University human ethics committee to both record and, with permission, to store these stories, which he calls ‘‘family heirlooms'' in the Hocken Library.
