[women-rights] Canada: Indifference to the safety of Indigenous women must end

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL-PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: AMR 20/004/2004 (Public)
4 October 2004

Canadian officials have too long ignored the threat to Indigenous women in
Canadian towns and cities. Many are missing, some have been murdered and
Canadian authorities are not doing enough to stop the violence, says
Amnesty International in a report, Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response
to Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada,
released today.

"All women have the right to live in safety and dignity but overt cultural
prejudice and official indifference have put the Indigenous women of
Canada in harm's way," says Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty
International. "As a priority, the Governments at all levels in Canada
must work with Indigenous women in the country to ensure that no more
'sisters' are 'stolen' from their communities as the result of
discrimination and violence."

The report is being released as part of a global campaign to stop violence
against women. The report tells the stories of Indigenous women and girls
who have gone missing or been killed in Vancouver, Prince Albert,
Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg, and draws on wider public information in
concluding that this is a serious human rights concern.

Lack of consistent reporting and comprehensive analysis by Canadian police
and government agencies of violent crimes against Indigenous women leaves
many unanswered questions about the scale and sources of violence. It is
Amnesty International's view, however, that the social and economic
marginalization of Indigenous women has placed far too many women in
harm's way.

The reality of this threat is borne out by the suffering inflicted on so
many Indigenous families, sometimes more than once. In one family, over
three decades, there have been two murders. On 12 November, 1971, Helen
Betty Osborne, a 19-year-old Cree student from Manitoba, was abducted by
four white men in The Pas and then sexually assaulted and brutally killed.
A provincial inquiry found that police had long been aware of white men
sexually preying on Indigenous women and girls in The Pas but "did not
feel that the practice necessitated any particular vigilance."

Three decades later, on 25 March, 2003, Felicia Solomon, a 16-year-old
cousin of Helen Betty Osborne, failed to return home from school in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. Two months later in June 2003, body parts identified
as those of Felicia Solomon were discovered. Her killer has not been
found.

"When will the Canadian government finally recognize the real dangers
faced by Indigenous women?" says Darlene Osborne, a spokesperson for the
family.  "Families like mine all over Canada are wondering how many more
sisters and daughters we have to lose before real government action is
taken." The report makes the following links between discrimination and
violence against Indigenous women in Canadian cities:

* Despite assurances to the contrary, police in Canada have often failed
to provide Indigenous women with an adequate standard of protection.

* The social and economic marginalization of Indigenous women, along with
a history of government policies that have torn apart Indigenous families
and communities, has pushed a disproportionate number of Indigenous women
into dangerous situations that include extreme poverty, homelessness and
prostitution.

* The resulting vulnerability of Indigenous women has been exploited by
Indigenous and non-Indigenous men to carry out acts of extreme brutality
against them.

* These acts of violence may be motivated by racism, or may be carried out
in the expectation that indifference to the welfare and safety of
Indigenous women will allow the perpetrators to escape justice.

The report also notes the failure of federal and provincial governments to
implement many of the recommendations made by past commissions and
inquiries into the welfare and safety of Indigenous people in Canada.
Timely implementation of these recommendations would have helped reduce
the marginalization of Indigenous women in Canada and thus increased their
safety.

The report recommends urgent measures that governments must implement to
improve protection for Indigenous women. Police forces must work with
Indigenous communities to develop protocols to ensure appropriate and
effective police response to reports of missing Indigenous women and
children. All governments must ensure adequate, long-term funding of the
frontline services needed by women to escape violence. Comprehensive
national research on the magnitude of the problem is immediately needed.

Action must be taken to recruit more Indigenous police and to train others
to understand the complexity of Indigenous issues. And there needs to be a
commitment by all agencies and levels of government to ensuring the full
participation of Indigenous women in the design and implementation of the
policies that directly affect their welfare.

"Violence against women is a global human rights crisis, to which all
governments must give priority attention. Here in Canada, the
double-jeopardy discrimination of gender and Indigenous identity has
contributed to the disappearance and murder of so many Indigenous women --
this must now end," says Irene Khan.

For a full copy of the report: "Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to
Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada", please
see: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR200032004



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