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Gender-Based Violence
Resource Centre

VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMEN and girls

A look at the many forms of violence against Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people. Created in collaboration with the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto and Indigenous members of our advisory committee and community.

STATs AND FACTS

Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered than any other women in Canada.

Indigenous women experience spousal violence at a rate three times higher than non-Indigenous women.

Rates of Intimate Partner Violence in Nunavut is three times higher than any other province (where 85% of population is Inuit).

In Canada, 52% of children in foster care are Indigenous but account for only 7.7% of the child population.

Many women and girls from Inuit communities are lured to southern cities under the guise of a better life. 

Ottawa is a known hub where Inuk girls go to rebuild their lives while escaping poverty and other barriers. Whether they are lured by exploiters or travel on their own, Inuk girls are at a high risk of being trafficked.

Although Metis women and girls experience more violence than non-Indigenous ones, issues facing metis women and Two-Spirit People are under-researched. 

Indigenous women and girls are at an increased risk of femicide compared to non-Indigenous women and girls.
    • During a 5-year period, at least one in every 5 women and girls killed were Indigenous (20%), despite representing only about 5% of the population.
(Source: Aura Freedom’s Body Bag, For Her campaign)

Check out Aura Freedom’s Imagine video created in partnership with Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto and highlights the human trafficking of Indigenous women and girls in Canada. 

The Imagine video series takes viewers on a journey through the impact of male violence against women – not only on survivors and their families – but on society as a whole.

 

Grassroots Stories, Knowledge & Quotes

-”There have been systems designed to “kill the Indian in the child”, to break the spirit of our culture. Sadly, this has resulted in the stealing of the breath of our sisters. 

These systems are not gone; they have taken new forms and the outcomes are the same. It is critical that an examination, a dismantling, and a reconstruction of systems occur. This process must be Indigenous-led. This is how we right wrongs & proclaim that Indigenous women are sacred. 

Indigenous women are life givers; water protectors, they are balance, they are strength, they are sacred”

-Pamela Hart Executive Director of the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto 

“The total number of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit peoples is still not known. 

This, in itself, speaks volumes. 

It means that Indigenous women and girls were not important enough to count or to search for. It means that the pain and cries of their families were not important enough to consider. 

This, to me, is Canada’s greatest shame.”

– Marissa Kokkoros, Executive Director of Aura Freedom

THE REAL HISTORY

Many still blame Indigenous women and girls for the violence they experience, instead of recognizing how colonization and systemic racism have created an environment where they are at the greatest risk of violence and exploitation in Canada. 

To experience that type of trauma and loss, only then to be blamed for it, is devastating. We all have a role to play in ending violence against Indigenous women and girls. 

This segment of Aura Freedom’s Relentless Resilience campaign has been created in partnership with Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto.

Types of Violence Against Indigenous Women

Missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit peoples

For centuries, Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit Peoples have been murdered and have gone missing with little or no support from the Canadian government. 

In 2015, the Government of Canada finally announced a National Inquiry into the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples (MMIWG2S). It was a landmark move for Indigenous rights and justice. 

From August 2016 to December 2018, the inquiry started the Truth Gathering Process, during which data, information, and stories were collected from survivors and their families. Many Indigenous community members and families gave accounts of their missing and murdered loved ones, and detailed the negligence of Canadian leadership.  

In the end, the National Inquiry produced a Final Report over 1000 pages long and concluded that the violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples in Canada amounts to genocide. 

The National Inquiry also concluded that an ongoing genocide of Indigenous Peoples in Canada occurs to this day. 

The charge of genocide underlines the clear fact that the systemic racism, colonialism, poverty, and violence that is faced by Indigenous communities are interconnected and amount to a strategic destruction of Indigenous Peoples’ lives and culture. 

Moreover, these systemic issues have resulted in the public devaluation of Indigenous women and girls and society’s misperceptions about Indigenous peoples that are built on harmful colonial stereotypes. 

The National Inquiry is an example of the Government of Canada participating in an active listening process by recognizing their role in producing violence against Indigenous women and girls and taking a proactive step to rectify it. 

However, as of June 2024, ONLY TWO of the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry have been completed. The Canadian government still has a lot of work to do. 

We all have a role to play to support Indigenous rights and dismantle oppressive systems of colonialism and racism to end the violence against Indigenous women and girls. This includes, speaking out against injustice, supporting grassroots organizations, learning and sharing our knowledge to others. 

TARGETED BEFORE BIRTH: Birth Alerts in Canada

In September 2020, Ontario ended the oppressive practice of birth alerts. 

Cancelling birth alerts was one of the recommendations of the national Inquiry into missing and Murdered indigenous Women, Girls & 2-Spirit peoples.

Birth alerts were warnings to hospitals that flag mothers considered to be “high risk”. 

These alerts disproportionately affected Indigenous women and other marginalized women. In some Provinces, a mother who was in the child welfare system herself was enough of a reason to be flagged. 

Birth alerts can lead to babies being apprehended from their families. They also cause immense trauma and stress to expecting mothers and stop them from reaching out for support for fear of their child being taken away. 

For Canada, birth alerts are yet another example of the strategic, colonial and oppressive practices that target Indigenous women, break up Indigenous families, and lead to the genocide of Indigenous peoples. 

Instead of targeting Indigenous families, governments must focus on supporting parents and supporting children to stay in their own families and communities, if it is safe to do so. 

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