The truth about missing aboriginal woman.

[Ken7]

The Truth About Missing Aboriginal Women

By Tom Brodbeck
Winnipeg Sun First posted: Sunday, August 24, 2014 02:34 PM CDT |
Updated: Sunday, August 24, 2014 05:48 PM CDT

Hundreds of Manitobans attended a vigil at Alexander Docks in Winnipeg, Man., on Tues., Aug. 16, 2014 to honour the memory of two aboriginal people.

The bodies of Tina Fontaine and Faron Hall were found in two separate recoveries on Sun., Aug. 17, 2014. (Brook Jones/QMI Agency File)


Article

By Tom Brodbeck
Before we rush out and spend tens of millions of dollars on a national inquiry to figure out why so many aboriginal women have been murdered over the past few decades, maybe we should start looking at who's doing the killing.
According to an RCMP report released in May, the vast majority of murdered aboriginal women were not killed by strangers, they were killed by spouses, boyfriends, family members or acquaintances of the victims.

"Female homicide victims generally know the person who kills them -- more than 90%
had a previous relationship with them," said the report. "This is true for aboriginal and non-aboriginal female victims."
We know who's killing aboriginal women. Most of them are men -- 89%.
Close to 40% of the killers were either the spouses or boyfriends of the victims,
23% of them were family members, and 30% were acquaintances.
Only a small minority of the killers were strangers -- 8%.
So the picture that the aboriginal lobby is trying to paint, that aboriginal women and girls are being plucked off the street randomly by strangers and are being killed, is false, according to the facts.
In the vast majority of the killings, aboriginal women were murdered over arguments, frustration and despair or jealousy with their spouses, boyfriends, family members or acquaintances, according to the report. And in most cases, they were murdered in someone's residence.
Instead of targeting the people who are actually doing the killing, though, the aboriginal lobby wants to blame it on society as a whole, including government and police. They want to blame the Harper government for not calling a national inquiry. And they want to blame police, even though the clearance rate for all murdered women -- including aboriginal women -- is close to 90%
.
They don't want to talk about the people doing the killing because the killers, for the most part, are also aboriginal. Aboriginal men are killing aboriginal women.
It's so politically incorrect to talk about that, not even the RCMP were willing to put it in their report. They broke down the perpetrators by age, their relationship to the victim, their employment status, whether they collected welfare and if they had previous criminal involvement. So they obviously know who the killers are.
Yet they don't identify them by race. So it's OK to identify the victims by race -- more than 1,000 murdered aboriginal women between 1980 and 2012 -- but it's somehow not relevant to identify the race of the offender.
Right.
The reality is, the profiles of those who murder aboriginal women and the circumstances surrounding those killings are almost identical to those of all murdered women, regardless of race, according to the RCMP report.
In the vast majority of murders against women, the perpetrator knew the victim, the killings were over issues like arguments, jealousy, despair, and most of the homicides occurred in residences.
This is a problem of violence against women generally, not just against aboriginal
women or any other race of women.
So why are the aboriginal lobby and many in the media calling for a national inquiry into the murders of aboriginal women?
Because it's politically fashionable.
It sounds compassionate.
Some people want to feel like they're part of Canada's intelligentsia so they jump on the bandwagon and call for a national inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women.
Even if a national inquiry into violence against women generally -- regardless of race -- is a good idea, then proponents of one should give us concrete reasons why this type of probe would help. I mean specific reasons, not vague pronouncements about opening the door to new funding opportunities or better programming.
That's gibberish. It has no meaning.
We know the people who are doing the killing. It's time to stop putting our heads in the sand and start being honest about who is killing all women, not just aboriginal women.
The race-card approach is getting really old.

WHO'S DOING THE KILLING?
Perpetrator
Aboriginal
Non-Aboriginal

Spouse
29%
41%

Other family
23%
24%

Other intimate
10%
9%

Acquaintance
30%
19%

Stranger
8%
7%

Unknown
1%
0%


Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women:
A National Operational Overview (RCMP, May 2014)

[maryjane48]

The Native Women's Association of Canada has documented over 582 occurrences of missing or murdered Aboriginal women and girls. We know that there are more cases that have not been documented. We also know that this epidemic of violence is continuing to claim more lives and irreparably harm more families every month.

Addressing this issue requires that the factors causing it are correctly identified, and those individuals, processes and policies responsible for the maintaining the status quo - and the subsequent harms to Aboriginal women and girls - are remedied. Recommendations and ACTION for the change are needed to increase the safety of Aboriginal women and girls in all walks of life across Canada.

Supporting an inquiry would be a crucial step in implementing a comprehensive and coordinated national action plan to address the scale and severity of violence faced by Aboriginal women and girls.

Update: On February 13, 2014 NWAC delivered 23,088 signatures from concerned Canadians demanding an end to the high rate of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. Unfortunatley the Government of Canada has not responded or taken action. In a continued effort we encourage community members to collect petition signatures and watch for the online petition.


http://www.nwac.ca/nwac-petition-nation ... iry-needed

[alfred2]

What good would an inquiry do, the police stats have showed what has been done with numbers.If people would stop hitchhiking to p.g. there would be less problems, why is it when white people go missing there is no big deal but when these go missing you want an expensive inquiry that will just back up the police facts.It is time to stop playing politics and teach people safety , if they do not listen an inquiry will not help.

[mexi cali]

Lake Vixen, it's like you didn't read the article.

It sounds to me like there's no mystery here. 92% of murders/violence against women, not just aboriginal are committed by people they knew. Most intimately.

So where is the need for an inquiry?

8% of these crimes are committed by people other than those they knew so like Alfred said, stop hitch hiking to PG or anywhere else for that matter.

[Smurf]

Since it seems that a high number of these crimes are being committed by family members, friends etc., it would seem to me that a high number of the perpetrators must also be aboriginal. If that is the case why call for a national inquiry, why not call for an aboriginal inquiry. I always hear where aboriginals want their own government etc., maybe this is the time to step up to the plate and do something themselves. Don't always ask or depend on someone else to do it for you. Get your Grand Chiefs together, start your own investigation, figure out where the problems lie. Start to do some training in personal safety so people know how to avoid situations that cause this kind of thing. Don't hitchhike, don't drink too much or use drugs, don't go into certain areas where problems are known and on and on. I'm not saying these women are responsible for their own demise, but those kind of things will always go on no matter what we do. Sadly it is human nature and impossible to stop completely. It is however possible to prevent in many cases and like it or not it is also a responsibility of women to protect themselves. They have a responsibility to look after themselves. There can't be someone, police or whomever there to look after them all the time.

Problems like this are not always the responsibility of someone else, some times it is up to people to step up and help themselves. That goes for all of us. When we travel in the US or wherever we do't go into ghettos, slums or wherever that we would expect to get into trouble. We avoid them with good reason. If something, someone or whatever is likely to cause you problems or harm avoid it. It's known as common sense.

[Omnitheo]

why is it when white people go missing there is no big deal

Clearly we are living in seperate universes. Castanet and CBC post constantly about missing white people. Many of these are recurring story "missing white person who went missing last month still missing"

[the truth]

to bad they only care about the dead women after they are killed - sad sad sad-these stats are no big secret really nice to see tom brodbeck print the truth , aboriginal women need to step up and tell everyone what goes on behind closed doors in there homes

[Smurf]

the truth wrote:

to bad they only care about the dead women after they are killed - sad sad sad-these stats are no big secret really nice to see tom brodbeck print the truth , aboriginal women need to step up and tell everyone what goes on behind closed doors in there homes

Believe me, white women, in fact all women do. The stats are very similar for all. However I don't think we need an inquiry as most of us know what is wrong. I believe aboriginal people know what is wrong and an inquiry wouldn't tell us anything. Sadly again I will say this is always going to happen and it is up to the victims to take responsibility for their own safety.

When I lived in camps I saw it all the time. You could tell within a couple of days what new women of any nationality were going to get into trouble.There were the "street smart" ones that knew how to stay out of trouble and there were the ones that were basically looking for it by their own actions. In 1000+ man camps it did not take long to find trouble. What I saw there showed that trouble did not pick victims by race, but by vulnerability. I'm sure it is the same in most of these cases.

[coffeeFreak]

Let's blame the victim and make them responsible to change a problem that is so systemically embedded in a society where violence against women is considered a "women's problem", rather than a societal one where the perpetrators and those, primarily of the same sex (forget race) stand by, say very little, leave it to women's groups to provide services (after the fact) to the women AND children impacted by this, and sadly, all too often, blame the victim. Example:

Smurf: Sadly again I will say this is always going to happen and it is up to the victims to take responsibility for their own safety.

This topic also just allows those who are very biased (another word might be more fitting, but would possibly be removed) to continue on with their ignorant generalizations about Aboriginal people.

[maryjane48]

Lake Vixen, it's like you didn't read the article.

It sounds to me like there's no mystery here. 92% of murders/violence against women, not just aboriginal are committed by people they knew. Most intimately.

So where is the need for an inquiry?

8% of these crimes are committed by people other than those they knew so like Alfred said, stop hitch hiking to PG or anywhere else for that matter.

well its like you think you know the answers because harper told you , but please carry on your ignorant of the issues ways lol if your okay with first nation women having higher than normal murder rates and violence against them just say it , i dont care, it is another opening for Justin to have if he says he will support a inquiry

[the truth]

seems you need to be blaming the native men here

[coffeeFreak]

seems you need to be blaming the native men here

Why? Many of those committing violence against Aboriginal women happen to be Caucasian.

[coffeeFreak]

Media Portrayals of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

...Rolston reviewed the media coverage of the 18 women who disappeared on the “Highway of Tears” and concluded that “their criticism may be valid. The first time papers like The Globe and Mail, the Edmonton Journal and The Vancouver Sun really covered the Highway of Tears was in 2002, when [Nicole] Hoar, a 25-year-old [White]… woman, vanished.” Until that time, police had never released the race of the victims, but Rolston’s review of earlier coverage showed that before Hoar’s disappearance reporters had mistakenly believed all the victims were Aboriginal when, in fact, eight were White. Kate Rexe, who worked on the NWAC’s Sisters in Spirit campaign at the time, noted that only after tragedy struck a White woman did the media began focusing attention on the lost Aboriginal women, but in terms of the amount of coverage she says the media gave the Aboriginal women “footnote status”...

Kristen Gilchrist’s study “’Newsworthy’ Victims? Exploring differences in Canadian local press coverage of missing/murdered Aboriginal and White Women” demonstrates that even when the missing Aboriginal women are girl-next-door types they still receive less coverage, and less sympathetic coverage than White victims. Gilchrist chose to study media coverage of six missing women, three Aboriginal and three White, who fit a “pure woman” stereotype to eliminate other potential causes of bias: all six women were close to their families, and none were involved with drugs or the sex trade. Gilchrist found that six times more stories appeared about the White women, usually accompanied by large photos, and frequently on the front page. By comparison, the missing Aboriginal women rarely had pictures displayed and stories were often tucked beside “soft news”. Articles about the White women were also four times longer on average, amounting to full biographies with intimate details about their hobbies, idiosyncrasies and life goals. Descriptions of the good qualities of the Aboriginal women were superficial, limited to brief descriptions such as “shy”, “nice”, “caring,” and “pretty.” Headlines often referred to White women by name: “Jenny We Love you” and “Waiting for Alicia.” Headlines about the Aboriginal women tended to be impersonal: “Teen’s family keeping vigil,” or “RCMP identifies woman’s remains.” Gilchrist notes that the Aboriginal women’s “lives were not similarly celebrated, and their deaths not equally grieved. This is a precarious space that can have dangerous implications for the safety and well-being of Aboriginal women across Canada.”

According to Yasmin Jiwani, the “fallen woman” stereotype that makes Aboriginal victims seem less sympathetic to media is closely tied to stereotypes about Aboriginal women in general, which are constructed and perpetuated by news. In her essay ”Symbolic and Discursive Violence in Media Representations of Aboriginal Missing and Murdered Women” Jiwani studied seven years’ worth of articles about Aboriginal women in the Globe and Mail. She found that coverage of Aboriginal women clustered around stories of violence, conflicts with band governments, custody cases, poverty and poor health status. Overall, Aboriginal women were portrayed as “abject victims of poverty” and “inept drug addicted mothers who did not seem to be capable of maternal feeling...”

http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/media-portrayals-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women

[Smurf]

coffeeFreak wrote:

Let's blame the victim and make them responsible to change a problem that is so systemically embedded in a society where violence against women is considered a "women's problem", rather than a societal one where the perpetrators and those, primarily of the same sex (forget race) stand by, say very little, leave it to women's groups to provide services (after the fact) to the women AND children impacted by this, and sadly, all too often, blame the victim. Example:
Smurf: Sadly again I will say this is always going to happen and it is up to the victims to take responsibility for their own safety.


This topic also just allows those who are very biased (another word might be more fitting, but would possibly be removed) to continue on with their ignorant generalizations about Aboriginal people.

No one is blaming the victim, especially not me. I totally realize it is a social problem, but I am also smart enough to realize that human nature is involved and as long as there are men and women the problem will never go away no matter what we do. I am not saying we should not do everything we can to stop it. What I am saying is that in a great many of these cases women are putting themselves in compromised positions and are getting themselves in trouble they don't have to get into. Do you not believe that they should be taking precautions not to do that. It is only common sense not to get yourself into positions that endanger you. I know I take steps not to do that. I actually believe it is your responsibility to take steps to protect yourself and not trust to others to do it, but possibly that is just me. Nope I don't think so as my wife and family do it also. Even dare devils, stuntmen and whomever take all the precautions they can to protect themselves. In other words if you are in an abusive relationship, get out of it. Do not hitchhike, especially not at night. Watch your drink in a bar. It's a shame we have to do those things but they are necessary and I will say it again, the situation will not change as long as there are men and women involved.

EDIT TO ADD:

Asking/telling people it is necessary to take common sense precautions is not blaming them for the problem. It might be blaming them for not using common sense in a known, possibly problem, situation.

[mexi cali]

What I saw there showed that trouble did not pick victims by race, but by vulnerability. I'm sure it is the same in most of these cases.

Very well said.