MMIWG2S+ IN CANADA

THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE OVER REPRESENTATION OF MISSING AND MURDERED indigenous WOMEN AND GIRLS IS A SOCIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ATTENTION AND ACTION FROM ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND ALL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

Click picture to be redirected to the Final Report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls which was released in 2019.

"The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country."

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sTATistics

a systemic problem

The following information is summarized from a Royal Canadian Mounted Police report from May, 2014 titled Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview.

- There are 1,181 documented cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada from 1980-2012. This is equivalent to 36 Aboriginal females going missing and/or being murdered per year.

- Indigenous females are overrepresented in homicides and missing person cases in Canada. Aboriginal females make up 4.3% of the female population of Canada but 16% of homicides are committed against Aboriginal women and 11.3% of missing women are Aboriginal. These numbers may be even higher considering these are only the reported, documented cases of women known to be Aboriginal.

- There are currently 225 unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. 90% of all female homicides in Canada are solved, regardless of victims being Aboriginal or not.

- More than 90% of all female homicides (Indigenous and non-indigenous) in Canada are committed by someone who the victim knew (spouse, intimate partner, acquaintance, family member). Less than 10% of homicides against women in Canada are committed by strangers.

- The number of murders against non-Indigenous females has been declining since about 1990 while the number of murders against Aboriginal females as increased on a proportional basis. In 1980, 9% of homicides of females were Aboriginal. In 2012, 23% of homicides against females were Aboriginal.
   
- There is not a significant difference in the number of homicides committed against Indigenous and non-Indigenous females involved in the sex trade.

-Indigenous females are 3 times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Indigenous females in Canada.

The following information is summarized from a United Nations report from July 2014 titled Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigienous peoples, James Anaya. The Situation of Indigienous People in Canada.

THE GAP: Canada has not done enough to close the gap between First Nations and non-First Nations people in Canada in terms of health care, housing, education and social services

COMMUNITIES: According to the Community Well-Being Index, out of the bottom 100 communities, 96 are First Nation. Only one First Nation Community is in the top 100. This is affected by housing, quality of social services and access to clean, running water.

EDUCATION: At every level of education, Aboriginal people are behind the general population. Contributing factors are high levels of poverty, transgenerational effects of Residential Schools, and systemic racism.

LANGUAGE: In 2008, the Canadian government committed $220 million annually to for the next five years to Canada's 'Linguistic Duality' program to promote English and French. Over the same period, $19 million was spent on supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization. There are about 90 Aboriginal languages spoken in Canada. Two thirds of these languages are endangered. Years of colonization and Residential Schools attempted to make Indigenous languages extinct.

HEALTH: Health and well-being has been improving over recent years but Aboriginal people are still more likely to die by suicide, infant mortality rates are higher, life expectancy is shorter, and there is higher rate of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

MISSING AND MURDERED WOMEN:  ''The federal Government should undertake a comprehensive, nationwide inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, organized in consultation with indigenous peoples.''

SELF GOVERNENCE: . ''Any existing legal barriers to the effective exercise of indigenous self-government, including those in the Indian Act, should be removed, and effective measures should be taken to build indigenous governance capacity. Canada should continue to engage in, and adequately fund, meaningful negotiations to transfer governance responsibilities to First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and to financially support, at adequate levels, the development and operation of indigenous self-governance institutions.''

CHILDREN IN CARE: Indigenousl children are more likely to be apprehended and place in foster care. This in conjunction with transgenerational effects of residential schools and the sixties scoops has broken down many of the families of Indigenous peoples. (Note: not from the report)