Violence and Indigenous Women in Canada
Violence against Indigenous women in Canada is a significant and ongoing issue, marked by alarmingly high rates of homicide and victimization. Indigenous women are reported to be five times more likely to die from violence compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Historical factors, including colonial policies and systemic discrimination, have contributed to this crisis, with research indicating that Indigenous women experience spousal violence at three times the rate of other women, resulting in a spousal homicide rate that is eight times higher. The impact of past policies, such as the Indian Act and residential schools, has left deep-rooted societal issues, including high rates of homelessness and violence.
Experts point to a combination of social, economic, and political factors that perpetuate these patterns of violence, and there is a troubling discrepancy in how incidents are reported and addressed by law enforcement. Many violent crimes against Indigenous individuals go unreported, leading to underrepresentation in statistics and a lack of accountability in solving cases. International human rights organizations have called attention to these disparities, urging Canada to address the human rights violations faced by Indigenous women and to close the evident gaps in treatment and protection. The ongoing struggle against violence is emblematic of broader challenges faced by Indigenous communities in Canada, highlighting the need for systemic change and cultural sensitivity in response to their needs.
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Violence and Indigenous Women in Canada
In Canada, indigenous women are five times more likely than other women to die due to violence. High rates of murder of indigenous women have occurred since settlers arrived in Canada. The first European and Canadian Aboriginal contact dates back to the sixteenth century. Indigenous women were the centers of their community and a common tactic of European settlers was to attack women. Aboriginal women are three times more likely to experience spousal violence; as a result the spousal homicide rate is eight times higher for Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal women. Experts agree violence against Aboriginal women is the result of social, economic, and political systems. In July of 2015 the United Nation Human Rights Committee tasked Canada to close the human rights gap evident in its treatment of Aboriginal women and the treatment of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Brief History
Historic Canadian policies such as residential schools and the Indian Act have led to societal problems that are evident in the twenty-first century. The indigenous people of Canada have been severely affected by a brutal social structure causing high rates of violence, murder, homelessness, and missing persons. What has caught the attention of international human rights advocates is much of the violence disproportionately affects Aboriginal women. The Amnesty International Canada’s report Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada shows Aboriginal women between the ages of 25 and 44 with Indian status are five times more likely than other women of the same age to die as the result of violence.
Problems also exist in reporting. Government statistics are based on police-collected data, but police numbers reflect only those incidents that are reported to police. According to the 2010 Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) Fact Sheet, "Violence Against Aboriginal Women" six out of ten incidents of violent crime against Aboriginal people are thought to go unreported. There are no standard policies concerning how and when police track violence against Aboriginal peoples. Some police agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) do not collect this data. It is significant given the RCMP covers 75 percent of Canada’s geography and serves more than 630 Aboriginal communities. Leaders believe there is bias on the part of law enforcement and that requests for investigations are ignored. The data suggests these concerns are valid. The same NWAC fact sheet reveals 53 percent of Aboriginal women’s murder cases were solved while 84 percent of all other murder cases were solved in Canada.
Although family violence is a pressing issue, violence perpetrated by strangers is statistically unknown as there is no system of reporting. There is no national database for missing persons. These discrepancies make it very difficult to track and maintain statistics. Reporting is an issue as much of the data on record is self-reported. This is problematic because many crimes are unreported due to fear, shame, or other concerns. The likelihood of unreported incidents leads researchers to conclude the rate of violence is likely higher than the data suggests.
Overview
Indigenous Canadians include people of various and distinct cultures and traditions. There were nomadic tribes such as the Plains Peoples who followed buffalo (Iroquois Indians) and tribes who resided on the coast who hunted and fished. Arrival of the Europeans affected the aboriginal way of life and the way the people related to the land. Aboriginal people had verbal treaties. They had no central government; rather, aboriginal society existed on unwritten customs and courtesies. Aboriginal nations employed oral treaties to settle disputes and end war. The Europeans brought their own governance and written treaties upon their arrival. When agreements between Aboriginals and Europeans were made they were written, as is European custom, and did not include a verbal component, which made it difficult for Aboriginals to understand fully what they were supposedly agreeing to.
In 1867 the Indian Act was written into law which officially made all Aboriginals legal wards of the state. The Indian Act had many negative consequences. As it pertains to women, the Indian Act made a distinction between Aboriginal women who married Aboriginal men versus those who married Canadian men. Those who married Canadian men would be given full Canadian status and all the benefits it decreed; this meant that in 1930 when women were granted the right to vote and own property indigenous women married to Canadian men could vote. However, Aboriginal women who married Aboriginal men were granted Aboriginal status with rights only on the Reserves. These women were considered non-persons and could not vote or own property in Canada.
According to the Indian Act, women were defined as Indians if their father or husband were Indian. However, they were not considered Indian if their mothers were Aboriginal. This is a significant distinction because many Aboriginal tribes are matrilineal and define lineage through the mother not the father. In many tribes women were chiefs and men and women had equal rights. European laws such as the Indian Act had the effect of stripping Aboriginal women of their rank and status within the community. They were also stripped of the protection of living on a Reserve among community members.
An interesting paradox was that a non-Aboriginal woman who married an Aboriginal man would gain status and Aboriginal benefits. This discrimination was challenged and in 1985 some women and children who had been stripped of their status were reinstated as Indians. The negative societal impact of these policies, which harmed Aboriginal women, can be seen in the twenty-first century. Aboriginal women are ten times more likely to experience domestic violence than other women in Canada. Canada has received increased scrutiny from international authorities, such as the United Nations, due to the human rights violations of Aboriginal women.
At the individual level Canadian policies toward indigenous people has caused a crisis of murdered and missing Aboriginal women. On a societal level, these policies have affected Aboriginals’ ability to have a family unit and be a part of their community. This has led to societal problems such as domestic violence and homelessness. Healthcare workers have observed limited access to healthcare, decreased quality of care, and neglect due to bias and discrimination against Aboriginal people.
Bibliography
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Amnesty International Canada. UN Human Rights Report Shows That Canada Is failing Indigenous Peoples. Amnesty International Canada, 23 July 2015. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
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Kuokkanen, Rauna. "Gendered Violence and Politics in Indigenous Communities." International Feminist Journal of Politics 17.2 (2015): 271–288. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.
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Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), "Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women." Ottawa: NAWC. N.p. 10 Mar. 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2015. http://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fact‗Sheet‗Violence‗Against‗Aboriginal‗Women.pdf.
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