Indigenous people are incarcerated at much higher rates than non-Indigenous in Canada and are incarcerated for longer periods of time (Cook & Roesh, 2012, p.222). Canadians have put Indigenous communities through much heartache and pain. With the colonization of Indigenous people to residential schools, Canadians continue to stigmatize and treat Indigenous people poorly. Indigenous people are more likely to suffer from drug abuse using needles because of the intergenerational trauma suffered through their parents attending residential schools in Canada (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2014, p. 327). This puts them at a higher criminal risk than others because of what they have been subjected to.
(2016). 4704.0 - The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Oct 2010. [online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/lookup/4704.0Chapter470Oct+2010 [Accessed 4 May 2016]. Digital, C. (2016).
But, determinates such as social, economic and historical events that play such a large role in Aboriginal women’s mental health and lead to depression, psychological disorders and self-destructive behaviours (Halseth, 2013). A serious threat that Aboriginal women experience that trampers with their mental health are the physical, verbal and emotional violence they endure in their own homes and in Canadian society as a whole (Halseth, 2013). These women are three and a half more times likely to experience violence and are also more likely to suffer seriously damaging
According to Murray (2008), adolescent family violence is overrepresented in rural, regional and remote areas (Shire of Campaspe) and in Aboriginal families, both will be further discussed in detail. Aboriginal Young people: Aboriginal young people are overrepresented in family violence statistics (State of Victoria, 2016). According to Cripps and Adams (2014), this high representation of family violence is the result of the history and impacts of white settlement and structural violence, dispossession of land and traditional culture, inherited grief and trauma, breakdown of community kinship systems and child removal policies. In the present day, Aboriginal families continue to feel the cumulative effects of ongoing traumas and thus ultimately, passing them onto the next generation: their children (Quinn, 2007). Quinn (2007) further adds that traumas such as violence, and parenting styles such as neglect that are being passed down, contributes to the cycle of violence.
automatically posses. “While woman’s intellect is confined, her morals crushed, her health ruined, her weaknesses encouraged, and her strength punished, she is told that her lot is cast in a paradise of women: and there is no country in the world where there is so much boasting of the “chivalrous” treatment she enjoys” (Martineau, 58). Missing and murdered Indigenous women are victims of the types of oppression and confinements that Martineau is theorizing. Social movements like the REDress project have begun to represent and declare resurgence, solidarity and autonomy for Indigenous women not only on behalf of the discriminatory treatment, violence and murder committed towards them, but also because of the legacy of trauma caused
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
It is called, ¨Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women:Overview,¨ by Edana Beauvais written in 2017. Itś main focus is the National Operational Overview Report made by the RCMP on Canada’s violence against Aboriginal women in 2014, which proved again that Aboriginal women are more likely to suffer violent death and get abducted then non-Aboriginal women. The reasoning behind all the violence and wrongdoings against Aboriginal women is believe to be the scars left by residential schools, lack of housing, poverty and racism. In addition because of the past relationship between Aboriginals and the authorities being rocky from things like the sixties scoop where many First Nation children were taken from their homes, many Aboriginal families are scared to reach out for help from social services and trust the authorities. In 2014 there were 1071 homicide cases and 164 missing Indigenous women that were police reported.
In fact, it can be quoted by Emily Hill, advocacy director at Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, who says, "We see that in many areas there has been no improvement and in some areas it's gotten worse.” It was also mentioned that many Aboriginal people were unaware that they had legal rights that were to be treated with respect and without discrimination. That being said, this proves that the amount of discrimination they receive was enough for them to be unconscious of the fact that their rights were to protect them. Although this may be true, some people may argue that this isn’t a serious issue, and that discrimination occurs everywhere. However, the murder rate of Indigenous women is 3.5 times higher compared to other women in Canada, according to a report released by the RCMP.
Support Aboriginal women who are affected by domestic violence? How can we help regain their status within their community? Historical Context pre and post colonization Aboriginal women prior to colonization were respected, prominent members, and a vital part of their community. Precolonization Aboriginal women did not stay home as house wives; they were an important participant within harvest and other duties that supported their families and communities.
For centuries, Indigenous women have faced many issues originated from the events and circumstance of the colonial history of Canada and the enforcement of a European patriarchal system on Indigenous people and their society. Before colonization, Indigenous communities used to have equal respect between men and women as there was a balance between the two genders. However, it all changed when European set a patriarchal system on the communities as they shifted the gender roles and power control leading towards the influence of discrimination against the Indigenous women . This resulted to Indigenous women constantly experiencing subordination and being unheard by the Canadian government. In today’s 21st century, Indigenous women still experience
There is no consent when it comes to how women are able to seek justice on native land because there is a lack of recognition of Indigenous land sovereignty. Off of native land, it is still a monumental struggle for indigenous women and girls to be able to have their assailant caught and prosecuted, there is a fewer legal restriction that is placed upon how the prosecution could
One in three Australian women will experience violence in an intimate relationship, and one in five women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Additionally, domestic violence is the biggest cause of homelessness for Australian women. Sexist Attitudes in Australia Are on the Rise, Young Women Tell Gender Study says, “women and girls make up just over half (50.7 per cent) of the Australian population.” They are still ranked second to men. “Women take home an average $251.20 less than men each week.”
The recent amendments to Queensland and Federal legislation have addressed some domestic violence concerns, while, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the problem of domestic violence in Australia have been solved. Domestic violence is the most common form of assault in Australia today. However, it remains a hidden problem because it occurs within the privacy of the home, therefore, those involved are usually reluctant to speak out. Domestic violence extends far beyond physical abuse and integrates with a range of behaviors. A recent amendment of the Family Law Act 1975 (Qld) has introduced a new definition of Family Violence, this is, Family Violence means violent, threatening or other behavior by a person that controls or causes the family member to be fearful of them.
The inequality amongst Aboriginal people and the rest of Canadians has been a pressing issue for many years without resolution. Currently, they inequalities exist within health cares, employment and education institutions. The Aboriginal people of Canada have suffered many hardships since the European settlers had first came to the country. The colonizers exploited and assimilated the Aboriginals by the colonialism, treaties, the residential schools they established and the 60’s scoop. These situations may explain why there were inequalities in the past; however, those days have past, and society is still faced with reoccurring imbalances.
Some intervention strategies that can help minimize structural violence directly affecting Aboriginal women in Canada. There is not enough academic research and literatures on the conflict. According to Cooper & Salomons (2010) this is because the research involves “such contentious and politically divisive topic as the ongoing effects of colonization, government-sanctioned/legislated racism, and the unethical behaviours of law enforcement in their investigations into the disappearance and murders of Aboriginal women. ”(4). Due to these reasons, Cooper & Salomons (2010) said it is difficult to secure funding for and difficult to publish research on this conflict.
