[lit-ideas] Canadian aboriginal women
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 11:54:14 EDT
Question about Canada:
What about this? Anyone know?
(since I started reading about Canada...to try to figure out Bush's
attitude, you know...but still, no great loss without some small gain, after
all..)
Marlena in Missouri
From Amnesty International:
Aboriginal women in Canada have largely been ignored by police and other
officials, contributing to "an appalling state of racial discrimination and
social marginalization," according to an Amnesty International report released
Monday. Over the last 30 years, over 500 aboriginal women have disappeared or
been murdered, Amnesty said.
In its report, "Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and Violence Against
Indigenous Women in Canada," the human rights group condemned what it says is
a
"terrible official indifference and apathy" toward native women, particularly
those who end up in the sex trade.
Indigenous women's organizations have long tried to draw attention to what
they call an epidemic of violence against indigenous women and children. The
National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence, based in Ottawa, praised
Amnesty for raising awareness.
"Any form of violence is warfare against our women," said Susanne Point, a
member of the aboriginal group in a press release on Thursday. "And the degree
to which Canadian society tolerates the sexual and physical abuse against
our women and children is an indication of this warfare."
The incidence of poverty and homelessness among Indigenous people in Canada
is extremely high, according to Amnesty, and prostitution often seems the
only option for Aboriginal women. The resulting vulnerability of these women,
the report says, "has been exploited by Indigenous and non-Indigenous men to
carry out acts of extreme brutality" against them.
Amnesty officials called on Canada's government to act quickly to remedy the
situation. "Internationally the Canadian government has taken the lead on
many human rights issues," said Amnesty's Secretary-General Irene Khan at a
press conference on Monday. "Canada must implement at home that which it
implores others to do abroad."
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the federal ministry of aboriginal
affairs have yet to comment on the report to the press.
--Robin Hindery
For more information:
Green Belt Movement: - http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/
Amnesty International-- - Canada STOLEN SISTERS - Discrimination and
Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada: -
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR200012004
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