Murdered Aboriginal women most often killed by men they knew: RCMP report

Iqalungmiut women rally for a national inquiry into murdered and missing Aboriginal women this past April, following the murder trial of Cindy Gladue. (FILE PHOTO)

Aboriginal women in Canada are most frequently killed by someone they know, the RCMP said June 19 during the release of its 2015 report on murdered and missing Indigenous women.

The new report, an update to its landmark 2014 study, shows that all Indigenous women who were murdered since 2013 in areas of the country policed by RCMP were killed by men in their own homes or communities, RCMP note that although that could also include “acquaintances” who paid for sex.

“Our 2015 update confirms the unmistakable connection between homicide and family violence, and that Aboriginal women continue to be over-represented among Canada’s missing and murdered women,” said RCMP deputy commissioner Janice Armstrong during an Ottawa news conference.

Although violence against women tends to be perpetrated by men — this applies to women of all ethnicities, the RCMP noted — the latest findings seem to support comments reportedly made by Aboriginal Affairs minister Bernard Valcourt in closed-door meetings with Aboriginal leaders this part March.

That’s where he’s reported to have said that 70 per cent of the murdered and missing women issues “stem from their own communities.”

That angered many Indigenous communities, who questioned if the government was trying to paint the issues as an Aboriginal problem.

“This is societal concern and responsibility to be shared,” Armstrong said at the June 19 news conference.

With the release of the updated report, the RCMP appears to have shifted its efforts on what it calls “vulnerable communities,” including a focus on the prevention of family violence.

The RCMP will do that in Aboriginal communities by rolling out social programming to promote healthy lifestyles and substance abuse prevention, the force said June 19.

The RCMP will also launch a domestic violence prevention campaign this fall featuring spokespeople like singer Shania Twain and NHL player Jordin Tootoo.

Police also said that the force has now made it mandatory to reach out and keep in regular communication with the families of victims.

The RCMP’s initial 2014 report found 1,181 recorded cases of murdered and missing Aboriginal women from 1980 to 2012: 1,017 victims of homicide and 164 missing women.

In its updated report, police say there were 32 additional murders of Aboriginal women in 2013 and 2014, and 11 more missing women within the RCMP’s jurisdictions.

Indigenous women in Canada represent 16 per cent of all female homicide in the country, although they only make up four per cent of the overall population.

That fact has prompted Indigenous leaders across Canada to demand a national inquiry to examine the causes of violence that lead to women’s deaths and disappearances.

The Conservative government has repeatedly rejected the call, however, saying the issue is better left with police.

Just last week, Nunavut premier Peter Taptuna said his government supports the call for a national inquiry, but noted the “unique” needs of the territory, which include domestic and family violence rates 13 times higher than the national average.

The Government of Nunavut’s mandate includes coming up with an action plan to address violence against Nunavut women and households.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Terry Audla said June 19 that he was “encouraged” to see the RCMP prioritize the need to address violence against women and within the family

“It is an unfortunate reality that there remains a deeply troubling overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the numbers of murdered and missing women in Canada,” Audla said in a June 19 release.

“While these statistics continue to be stark now, it is only by accepting this as a Canadian issue, not only an Aboriginal issue, and by working together that we will see change in the future.”

But those efforts should include a careful look at issues specific to Inuit communities, Audla noted, including the level of services offered in the North and the lack of safe shelters in the 53 communities that made up Inuit Nunangat.