Violence & Intersections of Race Flashcards
A Disturbing Trend
Diverging from overall declining trends in homicide, the number of homicides involving Indigenous females has remained stable or increased[iv]in the 36-year period from 1980 to 2015, but their proportion of total homicide victims has changed.
In 1980, Indigenous females accounted for nine percent of all female homicide victims, but accounted for 24 percent in 2015. In addition, in 2015, approximately 17 percent of Indigenous female victims and 18 percent of non-Indigenous female victims were on record as a missing person at the time the homicide became known to police.
Currently, in Canada, there is an ongoing National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In a national overview by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), it was estimated that, between 1980 and 2012, about 1,200 Indigenous women and girls were missing or murdered.
Rates of Female Homicide, Aboriginal Identity
Risk of homicide is also not evenly distributed across the population for Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups. Indigenous women are at elevated risk of homicide.
Based on 15 years of Homicide Survey data (2001-2015), homicide rates for Indigenous women and girls were approximately six times higher (48.2 per million population) than rates for non-Indigenous women and girls (8.2 per million population).
Other research suggests that Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada and 16 times more likely than Caucasian women.
This over-representation of Indigenous women and girls among homicide victims has been observed across the country, with the highest rates found in the territories and in the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, specifically, it has been estimated that Indigenous women and girls are 19 times more likely than Caucasian women to be murdered or missing.
National Statistics vs. Saskatchewan
In comparison to the national average, Saskatchewan has a much higher percentage of missing women and girls, and has a lower percentage of women and girls who have been murdered.
Nationally, 20% of women and girls are missing; in Saskatchewan, 38% of women and girls are missing.
An average of 67% of Aboriginal women and girls were killed in Canada, compared to 61% of women and girls killed in Saskatchewan
Age at Disappearance or Death: National Statistics vs. Alberta
77% of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Saskatchewan are under the age of 31 compared to 55% nationally
Greater differences can be seen when examining missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls separately (see Figure 3).
Most noticeably, 76% of women and girls aged 19 to 30 were murdered, compared to 44% nationally.
A lower percentage of women older than 30 were killed; 10% in Saskatchewan compared to 33% nationally.
Of the women who disappeared in Saskatchewan, 17% are 45 years old or older (nationally, 10% are in this age range).
Location of Disappearance: National Statistics vs. Saskatchewan
While the Saskatchewan and national averages are comparable in disappearances in urban areas, there are fewer Aboriginal women and girls who went missing in a rural area (12% in Saskatchewan compared to 17% nationally).
There are also a greater number of disappearances occurring on-reserve than the rest of Canada
Location of Murder: National vs. Saskatchewan
The majority of cases in Saskatchewan occur in urban areas such as Regina and Saskatoon. 72% of Aboriginal women and girls were murdered in an urban area.
While there is no significant difference between the national average and Saskatchewan when it comes to percentages of on-reserve cases, there are far fewer rural cases in Saskatchewan than the rest of Canada.
Homicide Offender Characteristics
The research also indicated that in 89 per cent of cases the perpetrators were male; an average of 35 years old and in 63 per cent of cases had consumed alcohol prior to the incident. The report concluded that the total number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada exceeds previous estimates.
