Published by Senator Lillian Eva Dyck on 07 October 2009
One Mother is too many, One Sister is too many, One Aboriginal Woman is too many
This past weekend on October 4th, Sisters In Spirit Vigils were held nationwide across Canada. October 4th marks a day of remembrance for the lives of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls. This is an important day to publicly call for action, accountability and justice for aboriginal women and girls. In other words, it is a time for Canadians to take a stand and demand action in efforts to bring attention about this issue of violence against women. As a result, an astonishing 72 vigils in 69 communities took place from coast to coast to coast.
According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, there is an estimated 520 reported cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, in the last thirty years. However, there is no complete accurate number of aboriginal women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered. Essentially, there is a strong possibility that many more cases are left unreported or have not been officially documented.
At the core of this crisis, there is an epidemic that exists within Canadian society. It is an epidemic that targets aboriginal women simply because they are aboriginal. Aboriginal women are not seen as equals, they are seen as less worthy than non-aboriginal women. In other words, aboriginal women become targets of injustice victimized by sexual violence and racism. As a result, aboriginal women are five times more likely than non-aboriginal women to die of violence.
There are many underlying factors that contribute to this issue. Take for instance, the prevalence of poverty facing many aboriginal women. Far too often, aboriginal women and girls have no social supports or resources in place to help them make better choices in life. Instead they are left vulnerable with no guidance or direction in their lives. As a result, many are left hopeless, powerless and choiceless with no vision forward of a healthier, safer life.
As leaders, it is a shared responsibility to establish dialogue with aboriginal leadership to try and find concrete solutions to make Canada a safer country for aboriginal women. Not only is it alarming that more than half of the murders and disappearances of aboriginal women and girls occurred in the last ten years, but the fact that the majority of these cases are women and girls under the age of 30. Nearly half of the cases remain unsolved, with no charges laid. This aspect is worrisome- it sends a strong message that the more unsolved cases persist, the more likely aboriginal women will be left as vulnerable targets of injustice. Aboriginal women can no longer be ignored and dismissed because one mother is too many, one sister is too many, one granddaughter is too many, and one aboriginal woman is too many.
In order to address this situation, a full public investigation into the missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls must be established by the Government of Canada, which will develop and implement action plans to address this crisis in terms of a poverty and homelessness action plan, resources and supports to empower a strong foundation of aboriginal women and girls, and to conduct national consultations with affected communities, aboriginal organizations, police detachments and advocacy groups.
The reluctance of the Government of Canada to take action must stop!