The number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada is higher than “previous public estimates” according to a new report by Canada’s federal police force the RCMP which was released Friday (May 16).
The “Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: National Operational Overview” identified 164 unresolved cases of missing women and 1,017 homicide victims in the period between 1980 and 2012.
And it analyzed the statistics around four topics “the numbers of murdered and missing Aboriginal females; homicide perpetrator characteristics; what we understand about the outstanding cases; and, victim circumstances. ”
It also looked at “risk factors”: “Any discussion of victim characteristics is vulnerable to the accusation that blame is being assigned to the victim. There is no such intent here. There are certain factors that will make an individual more susceptible to violent victimization.”
Among the risk factors it listed were employment status, use of intoxicants, and involvement in the sex trade.
For years Indigenous groups, and international observers, most recently the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples have called for a country-wide inquiry into the hundreds of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the last few decades.
There have also been repeated calls for the police to take more seriously crimes against Indigenous women.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda has a report.
ListenMore information:
RCMP – Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview – here
Amnesty International Canada – New RCMP violence report highlights need to hold government and police accountable for failing Indigenous women and girls – here
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