A new report from Statistics Canada says that First Nations, Inuit and Métis women across the country are still experiencing higher rates of violence and sexual assault than non-Indigenous women.
“Violence against Indigenous peoples reflects the traumatic and destructive history of colonialization that impacted and continues to impact Indigenous families, communities and Canadian society overall,” the agency’s report says.
According to the report, “more than six in 10 (63%) Indigenous women have experienced physical or sexual assault in their lifetime” and, “almost six in 10 (56%) Indigenous women have experienced physical assault while almost half (46%) of Indigenous women have experienced sexual assault.
The report says only a third of non-Indigenous women have faced the same violence in their lifetime.
According to the report, First Nation, Inuit and Métis women are overrepresented in several specific types of psychologically abusive behavior and eight in 10 who were ever under the legal responsibility of the government suffered physical or sexual violence while in care.
Stats Can says surveys taken in all provinces show “violent victimization was higher among Indigenous women in each of the Canadian provinces and regions outside the territories.”
In the North, the report says “there was no significant difference in the reported prevalence of lifetime violent victimization between Indigenous (62%) and non-Indigenous women (61%).”
The study also touches on Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people.
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InFocus also looks at the #MeToo issue in “Indian Country.”
It’s been a few years since Harvey Weinstein became the poster boy for bad behavior women have endured for too long.
In our own communities, women have long whispered about men to steer clear of – because they’re predators or pests.
The #MeToo movement turned those whispers into yells and emboldened everyone to take a closer look at the issues in our own families, communities, grassroots movements – right up the ladder to our most powerful leaders – even healing centres.
