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The use of bodies as weapons of war in the Donbas conflict is denied by the Ukrainian government and United Nations official reports, contrasting non-governmental organisation (NGO) documents which report the contrary. This article explores the gap between the survivors' testimonies, as captured by NGO research, and the official reports and questions the reasons for low victim reporting and high perpetrator impunity.
Sexist and racist policies and practices in Canada have created an environment inimical to the health, safety, and wellbeing of Indigenous women and girls. In light of the finding of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls that the treatment of Indigenous women in Canada amounts to genocide, this piece examines the importance of labeling this issue ‘genocide’ and why this finding has garnered some resistance in Canada.
In June of 2019, Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (The Inquiry) published its Final Report. The Inquiry concluded that the violence perpetrated against Indigenous women and girls in Canada amounts to genocide.1 It collaborated with a team of legal experts and lawyers to publish a separate report specifically on their findings related to genocide. The conclusion was detailed and based on a meticulous understanding of relevant law.2 The Inquiry’s mandate was to examine and report on all forms of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) people. The Inquiry process included truth gathering through a series of hearings as well as research, collaborations with experts and community knowledge keepers, and forensic investigations into police records.3 The Final Report revealed widespread violence and demonstrated that the factors leading to individual acts of violence are the direct result of colonial policies.4 Examination is required into the idea that Indigenous women in Canada have been the victims of genocide as it is presented in The Inquiry’s reports on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and the implications of calling, or not calling, this violence a genocide.
Many Indigenous communities in Canada grieve the murder or disappearance of a community member. In 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recorded at least 1,181 cases of MMIWG spanning the previous three decades.5 The Inquiry reported that Indigenous women have a greater chance of being killed by strangers or acquaintances, seven times more likely to be targeted by a serial killer, and sixteen times more likely than Caucasian Canadian women to be murdered.6 Additionally, Indigenous women and girls make up the majority of people who are trafficked in Canada.7
Despite pressure from Indigenous families and activists, previous Canadian governments have primarily ignored the issue, insisting that murders and disappearances were simply individual criminal acts.8 They failed to acknowledge that the issue lay not only in the commission of the crimes but also in the failure of government and law enforcement to react effectively to prevent and respond to cases involving Indigenous women.9 An example of such a failure was the murder of Helen Betty Osborne who was physically assaulted and brutally murdered after being forced into a car with four men and driven out of town.10 In the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba which investigated the case, RCMP officers stated that ‘they were aware of white youths cruising the town attempting to pick up Aboriginal girls for drinking parties and for sex. The RCMP told the Inquiry that it was not their practice to stop the cars to discover if the girls were of age or in the car willingly.’11 This statement suggests a decided lack of concern for the safety of Indigenous girls.
In response to The Inquiry’s findings, Andrew Scheer, leader of the Official Opposition, stated that though it is tragic, he does not see it as genocide.12 Scheer’s statement brings up important questions about why this violence constitutes genocide according to The Inquiry. It would be hard to claim that these events are not tragic, but how they constitute genocide is more complicated because in most cases the crimes were not committed by the Canadian state directly or officially endorsed by it.
The Inquiry argues that the Canadian government and law enforcement have failed to effectively protect Indigenous women and girls from violence. This was clear in the case of fifteen-year old Tina Fontaine, whose body was found in a river after she was murdered.13 The Canadian government had repeatedly interfered with her family and community’s ability to raise her but had not upheld their responsibility to care for her as a ward of the state.14 Nothing was done when she informed a child-welfare worker that she was spending time with a sixty-two year old methadone drug user, though it should be noted that the same man was later acquitted of her murder.15 Additionally, the Native Women’s Association of Canada found that ‘“only 54% of murder cases involving Aboriginal women and girls ha[d] led to charges of homicide,” compared with the national rate of 84%.’16
One impediment to investigations and the laying of charges has been the fact indigenous women often face prejudicial assumptions that they are involved in sex-work.17 A minority of MMIWG and two spirit people have actually been demonstrated to be sex workers.18 Even so, ‘[b]oth the denial of sex workers’ worth and human dignity and the assumption of Indigenous women’s sexual availability and engagement in sex work are highly problematic.’19 The framing of Indigenous women as deserving of violence because of their assumed promiscuity ignores perpetrators and instead blames victims.20 Additionally, this narrative attributes Indigenous women’s presence in sex work to the women themselves, ignoring the racism and socio-economic strife that often push Indigenous women into sex work.21 Some Indigenous victims reported having their victim statements discredited by police at the time of recording them due to their race, mental health status, or engagement in substance use or sex work at the time of the crime.22 Law enforcement officers have at times contributed to the problem by themselves physically or sexually assaulting victims. In response, many have faced little or no legal action, and some never investigated.23
Participants in the Inquiry’s Truth Gathering Process indicated that the violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people comes as a direct result of colonialism and accompanying government policies in Canada. The Residential School System and the ‘Sixties Scoop’ saw families ripped apart, children being deprived of their culture, and being physically and sexually abused, shamed, and neglected. These policies left trauma and wounds in the form of poverty, substance abuse, and violence.24 Overt racism from settler Canadians, paired with sexism, have created an environment that is often hostile towards Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. They are at the apex of a dangerous intersection of two systems of oppression.25 While the Inquiry is a good first step, much remains to be done if Canada is to effectively remedy the wrongs that are described in The Inquiry’s reports. It is important to consider the way that this issue is framed. In June, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he accepted the findings of The Inquiry (though he prefers the term cultural genocide).26 However, since June, Trudeau’s party has gone from having a majority to a minority government. With Andrew Scheer at the helm of Canada’s Official Opposition, it seems that the Prime Minister may encounter some opposition if he wishes to implement concrete action based on the Inquiry’s findings. If Canada continues in its past habits of seeing the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women through the lens of individual, rather than systematic, events, will it be able to combat the issue effectively? Does looking at this violence as genocidal action allow for better and more meaningful responses to be crafted and implemented? Could looking at these crimes as a human security issue give the issue more status among Canadian politicians who may care less for gender and race issues than they do for security issues? These questions may prove to be important ones for Canadians and their government to ask in order to assess how to move toward remedying past wrongs and creating meaningful change within Canadian politics and society.
1. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019) Reclaiming Power and Place: Executive Summary of the Final Report, p. 4.
2. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019) A Legal Analysis of Genocide: Supplementary Report of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, p. 1-33.
3. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2015) ‘Our Mandate, Our Mission, Our Vision,’ [online] available from https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/mandate/ , accessed on 7th September 2019.
4. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019) Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Volume 1a, p. 54.
5. Smiley, C (2016) ‘A Long Road Behind Us, a Long Road Ahead: Towards an Indigenous Feminist National Inquiry,’ Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 309.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Saramo, S (2016) ‘Unsettling Spaces: Grassroots Responses to Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women During the Harper Government Years,’ Comparative American Studies An International Journal, Vol. 14, No. 3-4, pp. 208.
9. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, ‘Reclaiming Power and Place: Executive Summary of the Final Report,’ p. 39-40.
10. Eberts, M (2014) ‘Knowing and unknowing: Settler reflections on missing and murdered indigenous women,’ Saskatchewan Law Review, Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 82-83.
11. Ibid.
12. Tasker, J (2019) ‘It is 'its own thing': Andrew Scheer disagrees with Indigenous inquiry's genocide finding,’ CBC News, 10th June.
13. Malone, K (2019) ‘“Nothing has changed:” Tina Fontaine's body pulled from river five years ago,’ CBC News, 16th August.
14. Scribe, M (2017)‘Pedagogy of Indifference: State Responses to Violence Against Indigenous Girls,’ Canadian Woman Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1-2, pp. 47, 55.
15. Malone, 2019.
16. Saramo, p. 208.
17. Ibid., p. 213.
18. Ibid., p. 213-214.
19. Ibid.
20. Smiley, p. 310.
21. Razack, S (2016) ‘Sexualized violence and colonialism: Reflections on the inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women,’ Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. ii.
22. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, ‘Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Volume 1b,’ p. 153.
23. Palmater, P (2016) ‘Shining Light on the Dark Places: Addressing Police Racism and Sexualized Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls in the National Inquiry,’ Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 276-277.
24. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, ‘Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Volume 1a,’ p. 113.
25. Ibid. p.104.
26. Tasker, J (2019) ‘It is 'its own thing': Andrew Scheer disagrees with Indigenous inquiry's genocide finding,’ CBC News, 10th June.
