Ending Gender-Based Violence means Protecting Indigenous Women, Girls & Two-Spirit Folk
MMIWG2S is GBV
As Canadian enter 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), we must ensure that conversations about GBV center violence experienced by our most systemically neglected communities.
Many of our policies are not designed with marginalized communities in mind and as a result leave giant holes where marginalized communities fall through. If the goal is to address an issue, centring people with the most amount of needs (as a result of systemic neglect) and designing to ensure their needs are met ensures everyone's needs are met.
So with that in mind, we decided to repost our post, first shared on Oct 4, 2022, for the National Day of Action for the MMIWG2S Report - it starts on Image 3.
CALL TO ACTION: We cannot talk about ending gender-based violence without enacting all 231 Calls for Justice from the MMIWG2S report. Please respond to every tweet, every post, and every email you see from leaders and people in Canada talking about ending gender based violence but not including/centering MMIWG2S.
There is a Serial Killer of Indigenous Women in Winnipeg
Over the last week, a serial killer of Indigenous women was arrested in Winnipeg. As of yesterday, the Winnipeg Police are not going to search for the remains of these women despite knowing the general area they are in.
Why? Because they aren't white.
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan and MP Niki Ashton from the NDP have called an emergency commons debate for more federal
resources to protect Indigenous women,
girls and two-spirit folk.
“While the government stalls in providing resources, Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit continue to be murdered.”
CALL TO ACTION: Email and Tweet at Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca, and cc/ leah.gazan@parl.gc.ca and ask that the gov't to provides immediate funding to stop this genocide, & search for the remains of these Indigenous women. Ask for an update on the 231 Calls for Justice.
Ongoing Colonial Violence
Indigenous women historically and disproportionately experience violent crimes rooted in sexism and racism.
Rates of violence against Indigenous women are much higher than for non-Indigenous women in Canada, even when all other differentiating factors are accounted for.
The rate of murder of Indigenous women (3.64 per 100,000) was almost 6x higher than non-Indigenous women (0.65 per 100,000), as of 2014.
Only 53% of murder cases in Native Women's Association's database has been solved (versus 84% of all murder cases nationally)
6 out of 10 cases of violent crime against Indigenous people are estimated to go unreported.
"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" - Final Report of the National Inquiry.
Since first contact with colonizers, Indigenous peoples have been systemically targeted and disenfranchised from their resources, forced off their lands and onto reserves and subjected to ongoing acts of genocide.
In addition, Colonizers forced Indigenous women to conform to European gender roles (here and globally), which contrasted with Indigenous societies, many of which were matriarchal. This violence was codified, in law, in the Indian Act.
Now pair this with the great colonial urge to not give a fuck about Indigenous folk, and you have yourself a national crisis and ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples.
When a white woman goes missing she gets wall-to-wall media coverage.
Even though this is an ongoing national crisis, we genuinely can't remember the last time we saw news coverage around an Indigenous woman going missing (let's file that under shit we should care about but don't even get to hear about, thanks to the colonial news cycle).
This is something many of our Indigenous friends refer to as native fatigue. Sure, maybe today we'll get a news story on this, but we would bet all the money in the federal budget that it'll be back to your regular scheduled colonial programming that centers white comfort by the weekend.
Now compare this with the murder of Sarah Everard or Gabby Petito (they're making a movie about Gabby Petito!), who weren't even Canadian but got wall-to-wall media coverage for days.
Learn more about this by google Missing White Woman Syndrome.
The great colonial urge to do nothing
The reality is if white women were this disproportionately impacted by murders and forced disappearances for decades, we would no doubt all be aware, and the government would be all over it. Canadians need to step up, amplify Indigenous voices on this cause, and demand justice and accountability - we are complicit in our silence.
It has been over five years since the National Inquiry was released, and little has been done and little has changed.
No one does performative social justice quite like Canada.
We need to hold our governments accountable and make sure they do not forget their promises to Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people. The federal government is an institution of colonialism, and honouring and supporting our Indigenous population is a necessary part of reconciliation.
This might be uncomfortable to read, but if we do not do better as a nation on files pertaining to the Indigenous people of this land then we are no better than the original colonizers.
8 Calls for Justice for Individuals
“Each person has a role to play in order to combat violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Beyond those calls aimed at governments or at specific industries or service providers, we encourage every Canadian to consider how they can give life to these Calls for Justice.”
Speak up when you see or hear of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people
Decolonize your knowledge and the institutions around you
Read the Final Report by the National Inquiry on MMIWG.
Dig deeper into the subject and seek additional resources on MMIWG to become a stronger ally.
Speak up when you see racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.
Respect, protect, and promote the safety of women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
Hold space for your relationships and foster them on the basis of respect.
Hold all levels of governments and distinct ministries accountable
From the Twitterverse
What you can do about MMIWG2S, which is GBV, today:
CALL TO ACTION: We cannot talk about ending gender-based violence without enacting all 231 Calls for Justice from the MMIWG2S report. Please respond to every tweet, every post, and every email you see from leaders and people in Canada talking about ending gender based violence but not including/centering MMIWG2S.
CALL TO ACTION: Email and Tweet at Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca, and cc/ leah.gazan@parl.gc.ca and ask that the gov't to provides immediate funding to stop this genocide, & search for the remains of these Indigenous women. Ask for an update on the 231 Calls for Justice.
