Sunday, March 14, 2010

Violence, Social Condtions, and Justice of Aborginal Women

Sisters In Spirit, a federally funded initiative that was launched by the Native Women's Association of Canada in 2005, emphasizes that the tragedy of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is deeply rooted in the history of the discrimination and dispossession of Aboriginals.
  • + The violence faced by Aboriginal women can be traced back to colonialism. Due to colonization, Aboriginal women are subject to both sexism and racism as they are seen not only as women but also as Aboriginal. They are frequently dehumanized and objectified in sexist and racist stereotypes which, consequently, put these women at a great risk of emotional, sexual, and physical violence.
  • + Prior to colonization, Aboriginal women were held in a position of honour and were seen as the closest to Mother Earth and Creation. Colonization took away their position as it destroyed Aboriginal structures and traditions.
  • + The Canadian justice system has played a large role in creating the poor social conditions in today's Aboriginal communities. The justice system has not provided them with the necessary protection against oppression but has instead been a tool of the oppression Aboriginals face through the imposition of residential schools, and denial of both Aboriginal land claims and control over their own communities.
  • + Aboriginal women face a "double Jeopardy" as they are discriminated against first because they are women and second because they are Aboriginal.
  • + The discrimination against Aboriginal women based on both their race and their sex is apparent in the lack of action and response of law enforcement to violence and oppression against these women.
"... jurisdictional tangles and cultural blind spots help explain why so many killings and so many vanished women have been relegated to the cold-case file." - Canwest News Service

Sources: http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/eng/ao26596.html
http://www.globallethbridge.com/world/Part+Sisters+Spirit+shines+light+missing+aboriginal+women/2124621/story.html

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