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"What native communities need to do is stop playing ball declare war and start stockpiling munitions. " The aboriginal women dying, are doing so at the hands o

"What native communities need to do is stop playing ball declare war and start stockpiling munitions. " The aboriginal women dying, are doing so at the hands of aboriginal men unfortunately. While historical social structures are obviously relevant, the $100M political show actually tried to move away form what the government already knows (i.e. intra familial violence) so as to somehow point the blame at external causes, which is shameful. We should have invested the $100M in practical programs to help communities move on. From Gov. Canada's own web site concerning victimization surveys [1] have a gander: "Research reveals that Aboriginal women experience dramatically higher rates of violent victimization than non-Aboriginal women do (Proulx and Perrault 2000; Hylton 2002; Brzozowski et al. 2006). Violence within the domestic context is the most pervasive form of victimization experienced by Aboriginal women. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of Aboriginal women in Canada reported having been assaulted by a current or former spouse, compared to 7% of non-Aboriginal women (Brzozowski et al. 2006). Results from other studies suggest that this figure may be as high as 90% in some Aboriginal communities (Ontario Native Women’s Association 2007). The literature shows that Aboriginal women consistently report a rate of partner violence much higher than their non-Aboriginal counterparts, even after controlling for relevant social variables. For instance, while living common law is associated with a 13 percent greater risk of victimization for non-Aboriginal women, the associated risk for Aboriginal women is 217 percent higher (Brownridge 2008). Sexual assault against women is particularly prevalent in Northern Canada where there is a much higher proportion of Aboriginal people in each of the territories than in the provinces. In 2002, the rate of sexual assault in Nunavut was 96.1 for every 10,000 people compared to the overall rate in Canada of 7.8 in every 10,000 people (Levan 2001). Aboriginal women have also been found to be greatly over-represented as sex trade workers compared to non-Aboriginal women (Oxman-Martinez et al. 2005; Royal Canadian Mounted Police 2006). In one study of the Vancouver sex trade, 52 of 101 women interviewed were Aboriginal (Farley et al. 2005). The overwhelming majority of these women reported both a history of childhood sexual abuse by multiple perpetrators and a history of rape and other assaults while working as prostitutes." [1] https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd3-rr3/p3.html https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd3-rr3/p3....

vivekd 7y ago
I think you are absolutely right - but the continuation of these structures and conditions that make violence against women ripe, easy and prevalent are due to structures that the government set in place. If natives actually owned the land - they would be able to sell and mortgage it - and use the money to move off reserve or start a business or whatever. If tribal counsels weren't just puppet governments, people might actually trust them and they might have competence to fix the situation. Right now Natives are almost under government stewardship - that condition doesn't seem like it will change any time soon and their situation seems to degarde the longer it continues - which will lead to more deaths and victimizations. I think to connect our points simply, we could say 1. Yes many of these women are victimized at the hands of men from their communities 2. Many of their communities are impoverished and under 3rd world conditions 3. Abuse and victimization are more likely under such conditions 4. Women are less able to escape victimization under such conditions 5. The government created these conditions and propagates these conditions
- wolco 7y ago
  5. The government created these conditions and propagates these conditions Native leaders and the population demand a different kind self government hands off approach. The government propagates these condition by listening. The self governing model is failing here but no one will speak up.
- sonnyblarney 7y ago
  No, I disagree on so many levels. A) the land ownership issue is existential and could blow up the entire country. Every treaty is also different. B) This is not a money problem. If aboriginal communities were given the land to sell, it would be sold to outside interests and the money would be gone in a generation. C) The 'system' that they are pointing at are the residential schools - they were ended a long time ago. D) Many reserves have a high degree of self governance. Self governance requires responsibility. The last government forced transparency among local aboriginal communities and it showed widespread corruption. That said - many communities were managed very well i.e. 'as diverse as the country itself'. E) The government does not create or propagate anything: 35 million Canadians live very well in Canada, there's no reason most Aboriginals could not live off reserve and do the same things that the rest of Canadians do. Obviously, not an option for some, but for most - absolutely. We need pragmatic studies, pragmatic programs, oversight, accountability - but in the end, there is no way that anyone else can lift the aboriginal communities out of whatever conditions. They have to do it themselves. Today we could hand them money, education, jobs - and it still wouldn't work, so there are underlying issues to work on.

vivekd 7y ago

I think you are absolutely right - but the continuation of these structures and conditions that make violence against women ripe, easy and prevalent are due to structures that the government set in place. If natives actually owned the land - they would be able to sell and mortgage it - and use the money to move off reserve or start a business or whatever. If tribal counsels weren't just puppet governments, people might actually trust them and they might have competence to fix the situation. Right now Natives are almost under government stewardship - that condition doesn't seem like it will change any time soon and their situation seems to degarde the longer it continues - which will lead to more deaths and victimizations. I think to connect our points simply, we could say 1. Yes many of these women are victimized at the hands of men from their communities 2. Many of their communities are impoverished and under 3rd world conditions 3. Abuse and victimization are more likely under such conditions 4. Women are less able to escape victimization under such conditions 5. The government created these conditions and propagates these conditions

wolco 7y ago
5. The government created these conditions and propagates these conditions Native leaders and the population demand a different kind self government hands off approach. The government propagates these condition by listening. The self governing model is failing here but no one will speak up.
sonnyblarney 7y ago
No, I disagree on so many levels. A) the land ownership issue is existential and could blow up the entire country. Every treaty is also different. B) This is not a money problem. If aboriginal communities were given the land to sell, it would be sold to outside interests and the money would be gone in a generation. C) The 'system' that they are pointing at are the residential schools - they were ended a long time ago. D) Many reserves have a high degree of self governance. Self governance requires responsibility. The last government forced transparency among local aboriginal communities and it showed widespread corruption. That said - many communities were managed very well i.e. 'as diverse as the country itself'. E) The government does not create or propagate anything: 35 million Canadians live very well in Canada, there's no reason most Aboriginals could not live off reserve and do the same things that the rest of Canadians do. Obviously, not an option for some, but for most - absolutely. We need pragmatic studies, pragmatic programs, oversight, accountability - but in the end, there is no way that anyone else can lift the aboriginal communities out of whatever conditions. They have to do it themselves. Today we could hand them money, education, jobs - and it still wouldn't work, so there are underlying issues to work on.