By Nuren Nawar
Indigenous peoples and their rights are constantly being disrespected and violated in Canada. One of the primary victims of this disrespect is Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women and girls have been preyed upon and have been victims of violence for over five decades. The constant deaths of Indigenous women related to homicide and violence make this a Canadian genocide. According to an article by Vox, Indigenous women make up only 4% of the female population in Canada whilst making up about 16% of women murdered in the country. The homicide rate for Indigenous women is 7 times higher than that of non-Indigenous women while the rate of violence towards Indigenous women is 3.5 times higher. These women are continuously getting murdered and going missing. Despite this, the Canadian government is not doing anything to protect them. Most of the cases of missing and/or murdered Indigenous women that are reported are not investigated and perpetrators of these crimes are yet to be found and charged. The RCMP along with many different police forces across the nation are not doing enough to give these women and girls justice. MMIWG is a movement that ensures "raising awareness and addressing the lack of response when a Native woman or girl goes missing or is murdered".
An alarming number of Indigenous women and girls have been victims of attacks throughout the past couple of years. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact number of MMIWG, but there has been enough to describe this issue as a Canadian genocide. This shows just how extreme this issue is and how important it is for it to get taken care of soon. Indigenous women and girls who have been victims of violence are exactly like everyone else, and like everyone else, they deserve basic respect. The way the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian government are handling cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has not been showing them any respect. Instead, the Canadian government's lack of action towards this issue gives the impression that they do not care about the lives of these people. These people have shaped our country into what it is today; without these people, we would be nothing. Yet, they're being disrespected and are being shown that their lives aren't worth fighting for.
The reason these women and girls are going missing is mainly because of their living conditions. Indigenous peoples tend to live in inadequate environments that make them more vulnerable to violence and danger than any other Canadian. These environments were created due to colonialism. A history of being deprived from wealth, being pushed into reserves that are isolated and poor, and a continuous cultural genocide against Indigenous peoples have all been reasons that this unsafe environment has been created (Brammer 2016). This environment is the root of all of the issues that are a part of the reason why Indigenous women and girls are going missing and getting murdered at alarming rates. Issues such as high incarceration rates, mental health struggles, high suicide rates, issues surrounding substance abuse and high poverty levels all contribute to why Indigenous women and girls are extremely vulnerable to attack and experience so much violence.
My social identities and my experiences relating to those identities have contributed to shaping my views and opinions on many issues. As a human being, I feel a great sense of sympathy for these Indigenous women and girls who have been victims of violence and those who have lost someone to this type of violence. So many young Indigenous women and girls are victims of homicide, kidnapping and other forms of violence and it’s heartbreaking. I am a woman and I know that it’s extremely dangerous being a woman in the modern world because we are all vulnerable to attacks. Indigenous women are a group of women who experience the most violence whether that be sexual violence, physical violence, verbal violence, or emotional violence. It’s quite difficult for any woman to live without the constant fear that they’re going to get attacked at any point, and Indigenous women have it especially hard because they know that they are much more likely to get attacked no matter where they are. I’m an immigrant and I come from an unsafe and developing country where it isn’t uncommon for girls and women to constantly go missing or get killed and experience many forms of violence. It’s scary to know that you can be subject to violence at any moment and time solely due to your gender and race.
The federal government is responsible for this issue, specifically the RCMP because they control police forces in most municipalities and provinces in Canada. The RCMP has control over which cases are investigated and they have the ability to reopen investigation of unsolved MMIWG cases. Currently, the RCMP have yet to do anything about these unsolved cases involving Indigenous women who were victims of violence. On the RCMP website, they state that protecting Indigenous women and girls is one of their top priorities. They also state that supporting Indigenous families, addressing MMIWG and working with Indigenous communities and families are also some of their top priorities. However, their actions aren’t backing up these claims. The RCMP has done the bare minimum in relation to solving the issues surrounding MMIWG. They are claiming all of these things that make them out to be extremely caring and worried about this issue, but their lack of effort put into actually reaching these goals proves that it’s all just for show.
The Canadian Government should enforce laws surrounding the protection and safety of Indigenous women and girls in order to ensure they are safe. These laws should be laying down some safety basics that will ensure Indigenous women’s protection. For example, Indigenous groups are pushing for safety laws involving Indigenous women in resource development and extraction projects. The Canadian government should also work on combating colonialism and reversing its effects because the effects of colonialism is what has caused the issue of MMIWG to become so large. Working to get Indigenous communities out of poverty, lessening substance abuse among Indigenous peoples, and working to make mental health a priority among Indigenous peoples are all things that the Canadian government can do to reverse the harmful effects of colonialism. Reversing the effects of colonialism will improve the environment that Indigenous women and girls live in and will make those environments safer. This will make Indigenous women less vulnerable to attacks and violence and will cause a decrease in the amount of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
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