Violence Towards Aboriginal Women - Pre Contact

           Before contact with the Europeans, women of Aboriginal cultures were considered to be equal with men. Aboriginal women actually held most of the political and social power. They also held the responsibility of passing the teachings they had learned onto their daughters. One of the most negative consequences of the Aboriginals making contact with the Europeans was the degrading attitude towards Aboriginal women. As a result of this negative mind-set was that there were assaults committed upon these women. Europeans viewed the role of women very differently compared to the Aboriginals. The ideals and views that they possessed prevailed because if the rising power of Europeans in North America.

At this time, the average life-span for an Aboriginal person living in Canada has proven to be much lower than the rest of the population and the birthrate appears to be much higher. This will have tremendous consequences for society unless the appropriate steps are taken to make sure that the problems that have been created because of the many years of oppression are addressed and dealt with appropriately.

Intimate violence is defined as ‘any and all forms of maltreatment committed in relationships of intimacy, trust and dependence’ (Platform for action 1995)

There is a story that I came across, that told of a woman that had been subject to intimate violence since very early childhood. Her name cannot be revealed for safety reasons. She is 33 years old and was born and raised on a prairie farm. She does not have a high school diploma and her annual income is under $10,000. During her childhood, she witnessed the abuse of other women, including her mother. In the course of her life, she has lived with two abusive partners. One of which she became involved with in her mid-teens. She was the victim of abuse from her family members and neighbours. Most emotional and physical abuse came from her mother and sexual abuse came from a male relative. For some of the time, she did not know that what was being done was wrong and even thought she deserved it. When she got older she was embarrassed by her partner and was often beaten by him, sometimes in front of her children.

These acts of violence brought her into the contact of the police and the criminal justice system. The man pleaded guilty and was given and short sentence. This was enough time for her to safely begin her new life, but in no way makes up for all the pain that he caused her.

 

-Helen

 

 

 

References

McGillivray, A., & Comaskey, B. (1999) Black Eyes All of the Time: Intimate Violence, Aboriginal Women and the Justice System