Violence
against women persists in all Canadian communities; Aboriginal women are
particularly affected.
In
2004, 41% of Aboriginal women victims stated that they had been beaten, choked,
sexually assaulted, threatened, or had a gun or knife used against them. In
contrast, 27% of non-Aboriginal women victims reported the same type or level of
violence.
A
recent report by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) found that
nearly 600 Aboriginal women and girls have been murdered, or had been reported
as missing, in Canada since 1970. These cases alone amount to nearly 10% of
female homicides in Canada, even though only 3% of the total national
population is Aboriginal.
It
is estimated that if the rate of missing and murdered Aboriginal women was
extended to all Canadian women, it would be the statistical equivalent of
approximately
19,400 missing and murdered women.
These
realities are unacceptable and must be addressed with aggressive leadership
from the Government of Canada. With this in mind, Liberal Members of Parliament
have been calling for a full public investigation into the circumstances
surrounding the murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls. Additionally,
Liberal Members of Parliament have also expressed support for a fulsome and
public examination of the systemic causes of this tragedy with the ultimate
goal of providing recommendations and specific policy, regulatory and
legislative directions on preventing future violence.
Despite
these calls, and despite a clear need for a public study or examination of this
nature, to date, the Harper government has failed to undertake such an inquiry.
Contrarily, government actions would seem to indicate a pronounced indifference
to the plight of victimized Aboriginal women and girls.
As
an extension of the Harper government’s
inaction and legacy of obfuscation, Conservative Members of the Standing
Committee on the Status of Women used their majority numbers on the Committee to
shift the focus of this report from prevention of abuse and violence to
empowering young Aboriginal girls and women subsequent to incidents of
violence. While Liberal Members of Parliament find the empowering elements of
this discussion to be laudable, the total and ongoing lack of attention to
understanding and resolving the root causes of the said violence represents a
shortcoming that is both intolerable and offensive.
To
this point, one particular witness told the Committee, “So far, we are
seeing responses that only react and only put resources in the hands of
authority. We must do better.” In context, it would seem that the witness
is likewise suggesting that identifying and understanding the rationale
prompting the heightened violence against Aboriginal women and girls, and the
advanced prevention of the said violence, should be considered as a priority. Surely
the most desirable, prudent and human approach to combating a statistically
disproportionate rate of violence directed towards Aboriginal women and girls
is to prevent their victimization in the first place.
Contrarily,
in 2010, the Harper government eliminated funding for Sisters in Spirit (SIS),
in an attempt to muzzle the leading voice for missing and murdered Aboriginal
women and girls.
SIS’s
research into nearly 600 cases broke new ground in an area that had been
previously ignored; the national database it created on these cases became the
first of its kind in this country.
Funding
for Sisters in Spirit was put in place by Liberals, with $5 million over five
years. When the funding expired at the end of March 2010, the Conservatives offered
NWAC a one-time $500,000 lifeline to keep the project afloat. News reports
claim this extension was conditional on NWAC not using the name Sisters in
Spirit, and not doing any research, advocacy or policy development as part of
its programming.
Again,
the Harper government’s inaction and legacy of obfuscation
speaks volumes as to the true level of prominence assigned to the prevention of
understanding of violence against Aboriginal women. Liberal Members of
Parliament reject this approach and again underscore a call for a full public
investigation into the circumstances surrounding the murdered and missing
Aboriginal women and girls. Likewise, Liberal Members of Parliament support the
need for a fulsome and public examination of the systemic causes of this
tragedy with the ultimate goal of providing recommendations and specific
policy, regulatory and legislative directions on preventing future violence.