Leave No One Behind - End Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls

11/25/2017

Joe-Gallagher.jpgInternational Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

By Joe Gallagher

Indigenous women and girls are sacred. They are life-givers and caregivers who hold very important roles in our families and communities.  They are our grandmothers, our aunties, our mothers, our sisters and our daughters.

Today, November 25, 2017, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with a theme of leave no one behind. This theme was chosen by the United Nations to highlight the ongoing and unacceptable burden of violence faced by certain groups of women, including Indigenous women.

Available statistics highlight that Indigenous women are nearly three times as likely as other women in Canada to report being a victim of violent crime; these include crimes perpetrated by a stranger or by a spouse.  Not only do Indigenous women in Canada face more frequent incidences of violence, the violence is also much more severe as the national homicide rate for Indigenous woman is at least seven times higher than for non-Indigenous women. 

Violence against Indigenous women is a human rights issue and addressing it is central to our healing as a people. This is work that belongs first and foremost to our communities.

Chief Charlene Belleau generously shared Esk'etemc’s commitment stick initiative to end violence against Indigenous women and girls with all First Nations in BC. By picking up the commitment stick, we take the first step to break the cycle of violence in our communities and to live violence free. We use the commitment stick to stake ourselves to the ground so that when times get tough, we don’t run, but stay in the conversation for ourselves and future generations.

Since Chief Belleau first challenged Chiefs to take up the commitment sticks in 2015, I have seen the effects of her action ripple through our province in powerful ways.

This past week at the Fraser Salish Caucus, Chief Ken Hansen, Chief Maureen Chapman and Inez Louis, among others, courageously spoke on these issues, highlighting the need for greater support services and safe spaces for women, children and victims of physical and sexual violence, misconduct and harassment. They raised the importance of holding perpetrators accountable, while also acknowledging that those who commit violence are part of the same cycle: they, too, need healing.

As community and health leaders, the Fraser Salish people came together not to point fingers and blame one another but to name a problem and to begin an honest conversation around trauma, root causes and how to best protect their community members moving forward. It is heartening to know that this work is being done.

On June 14, 2016 during a visit to Esk’etemc with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Chief Belleau gifted each of us with a commitment stick. As the CEO of the FNHA, and as a nephew, a father, a brother, an uncle, a cousin and a friend, I continue to uphold the commitment to end violence against Indigenous Women and Girls.

This International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, I encourage you to take up the commitment to raise awareness and begin these conversations, however difficult.  Your voice matters and your commitment matters. United in this cause, we can stop violence in its tracks and bring healing to ourselves and our communities.

FNHA-Commitment-Stick-Guide-Cover.jpg 

The official hashtag for the FNHA Commitment Stick initiative is #violencestopswithme. Small grants are available for community ceremony and healing. For more information or for a downloadable Commitment Stick kit, visit the FNHA website at: http://www.fnha.ca/wellness/commitment-stick