Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People

In Canada, Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people face disproportionate levels of gender-based violence. According to the Assembly of First Nations, Indigenous women are four times more likely to be victims of violence compared to non-Indigenous women, and twice as likely to experience domestic violence. Further, a 2022 report from Statistics Canada showed that Indigenous women are over six times more likely to be victims of homicide than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and 43% of Indigenous women have been sexually assaulted. 

This issue has been prevalent throughout Canada’s history and is grounded in the legacy of settler colonialism. Historically, Indigenous women have been held against dangerous racialized and sexualized stereotypes that were used to justify violence against them. These colonial attitudes informed legally sanctioned policies such as the Indian Act, forced sterilization, and the removal of Indigenous children from their families through residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. 

Despite the prevalence of gender-based violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people, this issue has been underdiscussed and justice is often not received for victims or their families. In 2004, Amnesty International issued a report titled Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada. This report was framed as a call to action, arguing that violence against Indigenous women must be understood as a human rights issue. Since this report, instances of violence continued to increase, leading to the creation of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) movement, which put pressure on the Canadian federal government to take action. Despite this, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed Indigenous concern that this violence was a systemic issue, and the need to launch a public inquiry. 

Only after Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015 was a national inquiry into MMIWG2S created. The inquiry was given over $50 million and released its final report titled Reclaiming Power and Place on June 3rd, 2019. Using testimony from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and over 1,400 survivors and family members of the missing and murdered, the report is over 1,000 pages and includes 231 “Calls for Justice.” These are not only recommendations, but required legal imperatives to end the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women. 

While this inquiry amplified this issue within the public sphere, Indigenous communities have yet to see real and actionable changes in ending violence against Indigenous women and gender-diverse people. Indigenous groups and non-Indigenous allies continue to vie for the support of survivors and families, prevention services, and healing, in order to address the issue of MMIWG2S.