Today the Government of Canada has officially launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
This inquiry will begin September 1st and run until December 31st of 2018.
The inquiry is the result of The Native Women’s Association of Canada’s campaign to get our government to address the patterns of disproportionate violence committed on indigenous women and girls.
Although this is a positive step, it bewilders me personally knowing that it took decades for our government to take such action. I think that an important question to ask is why?
This inquiry is about the uneven application of justice. When such a thing becomes apparent there should not be hesitation by our leaders take action.
On the mollymatters.org list of missing and murdered pregnant women of Canada, many of the women listed are indigenous. It is no wonder because pregnancy is also a factor that has proven to increase susceptibility for violent crimes being committed on women.
It is our hope that this inquiry reveals truth and provides some semblance of justice for these women and their families, and that from it our country will ultimately find a way to more accurately provide justice for every woman and girl that is a victim of a violent crime.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada has endorsed Cassie and Molly’s Law (Bill C-225) and agrees that violence and abuse carried out against pregnant women is a shocking violation of women’s rights.
