Work on making life safer for Indigenous women in Canada and cracking the countless cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is only beginning, but Inuvik Twin-Lakes MLA Lesa Semmler takes stock in how far things have come over the last decade.

SA国际影视传媒淭his topic is near and dear to my heart,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淪o when our our government didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have an action plan and the federal government didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have an action plan, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 when I started to fight. Within a year, we got a draft action plan on what the government is doing with those 231 calls for justice.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou should see all the red shirts they have for all the schools. When I started this journey in 2015, we didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even know what Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women was. Now weSA国际影视传媒檙e here, seven years later and all our kids are starting to realize and weSA国际影视传媒檙e okay to talk about these things.

SA国际影视传媒淲e need to talk about them. We need to release it, we need to deal with it so we can move forward.SA国际影视传媒�

Semmler gave an update on the progress of bringing justice to MMIWG across Canada during a May 5 dinner she co-hosted with Native WomenSA国际影视传媒檚 Association of the NWT president Denise McDonald to commemorate Red Dress Day.

Inspired by a protest in Bagota, Columbia, the day is a nationwide effort to raise awareness to the plight of Indigenous women. Semmler noted the problem wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 limited to just missing and murdered women, but also women trapped in abusive relationships, children growing up in the child welfare system and women forced to live on the streets.

Semmler said Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or to go missing than members of any other demographic group in Canada SA国际影视传媒� and 16 times more likely to be slain or to disappear than white women.

Indigenous women in Canada today are three times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be violently or sexually assaulted. Women account for 81% of the victims of intimate partner violence in the NWT and the rate of police-reported intimate partner violence in the NWT is almost 10 times the national average.

SA国际影视传媒淥f these reported incidents 81 per cent of the victims are women,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e do have people that may identify as other or non binary or males in this category too. Intimate partner violence is not always just one way, but the rates are higher against women, and especially when itSA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous women.SA国际影视传媒�

As horrifying as the statistics are, in reality the situation may be much worse. Semmler said systematic racism by police officers throughout the decades resulted in a lot of cases being improperly documented or not documented at all. had initially estimated 1,000 women had gone missing, but the Native WomenSA国际影视传媒檚 Association of Canada concluded there were in excess of 4,000 cold cases.

One example Semmler highlighted was the case of Bernice Williams, who lived on the street in the Vancouver East side in the 1980s and reported many of the women she knew in the area had gone missing to police. Officers at the time, said Semmler, largely brushed off the reports and assumed the missing women had gone home. Remains of many of the women reported missing later turned up buried on convicted serial killer Robert PicktonSA国际影视传媒檚 farm.

But even today many Indigenous women are in danger of violence. McDonald pointed out only weeks ago a woman was abducted from her home in Inuvik at weapon point, assaulted and forcefully driven to Tuktoyaktuk by a male.

A constant threat of violence or other domestic problems is a strain on the mental well being of women, added McDonald.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur mental health is at a place where we need a lot of support, we need a lot of services,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e need to advocate those of us that are that are able to make to advocate for our woman. On the streets, for our women that are silent in their homes that we donSA国际影视传媒檛 know about. For the grandmothers who are taking care of their children, grandchildren, because their children are not in a good place.

SA国际影视传媒淓ducation and awareness is a key. We need to start educating not only our young girls, but our young boys from a very early age. We need a new curriculum, we need new resources. We need lots of encouragement and support. We can stop some of the things that are going on around lateral violence.SA国际影视传媒�

Noting it was not an easy document to get through, McDonald said was working her way through the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She advised the crowd to educate themselves on the history of Indigenous people under Canadian colonization, because healing could begin until everyone understood how the damage was done.

Much work still needs to be done, but the more people know and work to bring justice to women living with violence, the sooner theySA国际影视传媒檒l be free of it.

SA国际影视传媒淚t should not have to hurt to be an indigenous woman in Canada today,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淐anada is a first world country and it is the first home of indigenous people. Yet we are the ones who are suffering, our people are dying and our children are alone and lost in many cases.SA国际影视传媒�