Upholding the Safety of Indigenous Women is Critical
Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) will return to Queen’s Park next month faced with new and unprecedented challenges, and responding to US tariffs will no doubt monopolize the agenda. As Ontario, like the rest of the country, is forced to turn its attention toward US relations and protecting the economy, it is crucial that all levels of government not lose sight of their human rights obligations and responsibility to uphold the safety of Indigenous women. The safety, healing, and well-being of Indigenous women must remain a priority as we navigate these times of economic uncertainty together.
In November 2024, the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council released a statement in response to municipalities declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic and the introduction of Bill 173, Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act in Ontario. This proposed legislation and the municipal declarations were a direct result of community mobilization following the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam. We released the statement to express solidarity with the loved ones of Carol, Anastasia and Natalie, as well as those working to end violence against all women in their communities. We also express our sadness, however, at the differential response to the murders of Indigenous women.
Our communities have been calling on governments to recognize violence against Indigenous women as a national crisis for decades. Close to 1,200 Indigenous women were reported missing or murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 – that is more than 37 a year, without any level of government calling for an inquest or declaring an epidemic. Six in ten Indigenous women report experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime, compared to four in ten non-Indigenous women.1 Indigenous women and girls also make up 21% of all gender-related homicides of women and girls in Canada, despite comprising only 5% of the female population.2 In Ontario, Indigenous women are three times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women.3,4 The proportion of femicide victims who are Indigenous in Ontario has steadily increased since the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.5
The National Inquiry determined that violence against Indigenous women constitutes a “deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide.” However, the murders and disappearances of thousands of Indigenous women and the 2019 Calls for Justice have not galvanized communities and all levels of government in the same way that the murders of three non-Indigenous women in Renfrew County have. After six years, the vast majority of the Calls for Justice have not been implemented. Government and societal inaction in response to the ongoing crisis of violence against Indigenous women is itself a form of systemic and structural violence against us.
We see Canadians, media, businesses and governments uniting to respond to the “existential threat” to Canada from the United States, but we ask you to consider the very real existential threat of violence and death that Indigenous women in this country face every day – and how it could escalate in the current political climate with the rise in anti-rights and anti-women rhetoric. Protecting Canada’s economy is a priority, but we must not allow a preoccupation with safeguarding our economy to detract from the urgency of safeguarding Indigenous women’s right to life. Notably, Indigenous women play an integral role in the domestic economy, as entrepreneurs and owners of small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Indigenous women are starting businesses at twice the rate of Canadian women, and 39% of Indigenous SMEs in Canada are women-owned.6
The study into intimate partner violence by Ontario’s Standing Committee on Justice Policy was cut short by the snap provincial election. Many Indigenous women across Ontario testified before the committee, speaking to their lived realities of the normalization of violence towards us. As Parliament resumes in April, gender-based violence and violence against Indigenous women must remain on the agenda.
Indigenous women are leaders in our families, our communities and our Nations. We are strong and resilient, despite the systemic racism, discrimination and impacts of ongoing colonization that perpetuate the violence against us. We refuse to be silenced or made invisible. The statement from the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council provides actionable recommendations for Ontario and municipalities to effectively address the violence experienced by Indigenous women. The solutions must come from Indigenous women, our organizations, and our communities. All levels of government and our allies within the not-for-profit sector must work with, and support, Indigenous women to ensure our safety so that we can take up our inherent leadership roles in our communities and Nations. This is our right as Indigenous peoples and as women – and Canada will be stronger for it. We are calling on women’s organizations across Ontario to support Indigenous women’s leadership and amplify our recommendations as well as the 2019 Calls for Justice in your own advocacy.
Ingrid Green is the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA), the oldest and largest Indigenous women’s organization in Canada. For over 50 years, ONWA has been at the forefront of action to end all forms of violence against Indigenous women, improve Indigenous women’s safety and restore their leadership.
You can read the full statement from the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council here:
Statement From the Ontario Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council on Declaring Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic
1 Heidinger, L. (2021). Intimate partner violence: Experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women in Canada, 2018. Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/ 85-002-x/2021001/article/00007-eng.htm
2 Sutton, D. (2023) Gender-related homicide of women and girls in Canada. The Daily. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2023001/article/00003-eng.htm
3 Statistics Canada. (2023). Table 35-10-0156-01 Number, percentage and rate of homicide victims, by gender and Indigenous identity. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510015601
4 Statistics Canada. (2015). Table 8: Total female victims of homicide, by Aboriginal identity, Canada, provinces and territories 2001 to 2014. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2015001/article/14244/tbl/tbl08-eng.htm
5 Data derived from Ontario Association of Interval Houses (OAITH) Annual Femicide Lists and Reports.
6 Adàwe: export experiences of Indigenous entrepreneurs. A joint report by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and Global Affairs Canada. (2023).
https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/inclusive_trade-commerce_inclusif/indigenous-autochtone/export-experiences-exportation.aspx?lang=eng#a2_5_1