Politics

MRS UNIVERSE - ON ISSUE OF MISSING & MURDERED CANADIAN INDIGENOUS WOMEN

ASHLEY CALLINGBULL FOR POLITICAL CHANGE


(Source: Facebook / Ashley Callingbull)
(Source: Facebook / Ashley Callingbull)
USPA NEWS - The 25-year-old Canadian Ashley Callingbull made history in Belarus when she became the first Canadian and first Aboriginal woman to win the International Pageant, one for married women that focuses on community work rather than looks...
The 25-year-old Canadian Ashley Callingbull made history in Belarus when she became the first Canadian and first aboriginal woman to win the International Pageant, one for married women that focuses on community work rather than looks. She hails from the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta. The theme of this year's competition, which is unafilliated with the Miss Universe pageant, was adressing domestic violence. Ashley Callingbull is actress and model making clear that she vill use her new international platform to raise awareness of issues affecting Canada's Aboriginal people. She is herself a survivor of physical and sexual abuse.
Nearly 1,200 Aboriginal women were murdered or went missing between 1980 and 2012, most in rural areas. In late 2013, the Commissioner of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) initiated a study of reported incidents of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across all police jurisdictions in Canada.

- Police-recorded incidents of Aboriginal female homicides and unresolved missing Aboriginal females in this review total 1,181 (164 missing and 1,017 homicide victims)
- There are 225 unsolved cases of either missing or murdered Aboriginal females : 105 missing of more than 30 days as of November 4, 2013, whose cause of disapearance was categorized at the time as "unknown" or "foul play suspected" and 120 unsolved homicides between 1980 and 2012.
- The total indicates that Aboriginal women are over-represented among Canada's murdered and missing women.
- There are similarities across all femal homicides. Most homicides were committed by men and most of the perpetrators knew their victimes (wether as an acquaintance or spouse)
- The majority of all female homicides are solved (close to 90%) and there is little difference in solve rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal victims.

When looking at the issue of murdered and missing Aboriginal Females, it is important to remain cognizant of the broader reality of violence affecting Aboriginal women in Canada. They are at a higher risk of being victims of violence than non-Aboriginal females.
According to the 2009 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization, nearly 67,000 Aboriginal females reported being a victim of violence in the previous 12 months. The rate of victimization among Aboriginal females was close to three times higher than that of non-Aboriginal females.

According to recent data from the 2011 National household survey, 1,4 million people identified as Aboriginal in 2011, representing 4,3% of the Canadian population. The proportion of Aboriginal female in Canada's female population is similar. In 2011, there were 718,500 Aboriginal females in Canada, representing 4,3% of the overall female population that year.

Source : Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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