We are aboriginal
women. Givers of life. We are mothers,
sisters, daughters, aunties and grandmothers. Not just prostitutes and drug
addicts. Not welfare cheats. We stand on our mother earth and we demand
respect. We are not there to be beaten, abused, murdered, ignored. (Dara
Culhane)
Human trafficking has become more of a growing issue in
recent years, both in Canada as well as the rest of the world. The speeches on sex
trafficking of women and girls in Canada continue to highlight international trafficking
therefore showing Canada more as a transit and destination country than an
origin country.
Over 500 Aboriginal girls and women have gone missing over
the past thirty years (Amnesty International,
2004). Domestic trafficking has not received the attention it deserves.
Instead of being depicted in a trafficking context, sexual manipulation of
Aboriginal girls is shown and understood as a problem of prostitution or sex
work. Similarly, although the extensive and often intricate problems facing
Aboriginal peoples today, policies continue to be dominated by a limited range
of issues like health, violence, poverty and the criminal justice system.
The following information was gathered from a study conducted
in Vancouver Canada.
Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the Colonization of
First Nations Women
We interviewed 100 women prostituting in Vancouver, Canada.
We found an extremely high prevalence of lifetime violence and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). Fifty-two percent of our interviewees were women from
Canada’s First Nations, a significant overrepresentation in prostitution
compared with their representation in Vancouver generally(1.7-7%). Eighty-two
percent reported a history of childhood sexual abuse, by an average of four
perpetrators. Seventy-two percent reported childhood physical abuse, 90% had
been physically assaulted in prostitution, 78% had been raped in prostitution.
Seventy-two percent met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Ninety-five percent said that
they wanted to leave prostitution. Eighty-six percent reported current or past
homelessness with housing as one of their most urgent needs. Eighty-two percent
expressed a need for treatment for drug or alcohol addictions. Findings are
discussed in terms of the legacy of colonialism, the intrinsically traumatizing
nature of prostitution and prostitution’s violations of basic human rights.
http://www.fncaringsociety.org/sites/default/files/online-journal/vol3num3/Sethi_57.pdf
Missing Aboriginal women in Canada is an issue that never gets resolved. The high profile Case of the Picton murders in the east coast shed some media attention, however, no one has been proactive with regard to finding these women. There is alot of corruption and racism within the provincial police and the RCMP, escpecially with the western provinces on the treatment of aboriginal issues and it's well documented either in books or written about in major newspaper articles. I believe this to be one of the major barriers. I also believe that the sexual abuse that runs rampant in our communities is the direct result of the abuses suffered by our people from the residential school era. It's people like you Helen that take the time to promote awareness on issues that starts change. Miigwetch for sharing. Janet
ReplyDeleteHelen you bring up a very important issue that has not yet and I mean yet, been resolved. While reading your article, the first thing I thought about was the Picton murders. Even though this is national tragedy that is widely known, this situation continues.
ReplyDeleteThe treatment of Aboriginal women with regards to this issue is disgusting. Many are informed about the way Aboriginal women are treated with regards to human trafficking, prostitution, sexual abuse, violence etc. What has to be done to stop this assault on not only Native women but all women?
Jen M