The pain of not knowing is a powerfully negative force eating at the wellbeing of the families of those women and girls who have gone missing in our communities. It is impossible for those who stand witness on the sidelines to fully comprehend that agony, a pain fueled by hope against hope.
According to research, Indigenous women and girls are 400 percent more likely to go missing in this country. Since 1956 to 2016, it is estimated the tally of missing Indigenous women stands at over 4,000—we can’t know for certain the actual number, but it is likely much higher given the lacklustre record keeping that continues to fall short to this day.
Not so the level of incarceration.
In 2017/2018, Indigenous women represented four percent of the female population yet comprise 42 percent of those admitted to provincial/territorial custody and 40 percent of those in federal custody. The evidence is plain. Indigenous women are overpoliced and under protected.
Studies based on the experiences of Indigenous women in their interactions with the police highlight the systemic challenges our society faces in remedying this pernicious issue. They overwhelming identify two main factors—they are met with either justification or dismissal.
Blaming the victim is nothing new, nor is the issue of missing and murdered women and girls. Too often, when a woman goes missing or is murdered, especially in an urban environment, the investigation is hampered by assumptions about the victim.
This is an attitude that is not relegated to Indigenous women—but it falls most often upon them. Social norms have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Women are no longer considered chattel, the property and wards of the males in their lives, but the vestiges of that attitude remain to colour, consciously or unconsciously, approaches to dealing with the issue.
There are many factors impacting investigations into MMIWG2S+.
Resources of time, labour and technology are limited. The fundamental concept of Occam’s razor, also known as the principle of parsimony, suggests that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the right one. It’s a problem-solving tool as opposed to a law which favours explanations with fewer assumptions and complexities. Put the two together with the belief that the victim brought it upon themselves due to their lifestyle and you have a recipe for disaster.
This is not simply an issue of policing, law enforcement or a failure of the men and women who wear the blue. It is something that goes far deeper than that. It is a societal failing which, to some degree, each of us bears within us.
Dress in a manner regarded as provocative to males. It’s your own fault.
Engage in the sex trade. It’s your own fault.
Become addicted to drugs. It’s your own fault.
How many of the previous three statements caused a twinge of agreement? How many does the reader agree with wholeheartedly?
To a police officer patrolling the streets, a disproportionate number of those they meet engaging in those three streams are Indigenous.
The reasons are legion. Poverty, systemic trauma, a lack of opportunity, a dearth of options and opportunities in remote communities can lead someone to a life on the streets of the city. These are societal failures and not the fault of the police—but it is they who must deal with the fallout from those issues and, far too often, the human beings they are dealing with are Indigenous.
So, when it is an Indigenous woman who is missing or murdered, that lens gets unconsciously or consciously employed. The problem is not the police, or even law enforcement. Canadian law enforcement and the legal system is demonstrably better than that of our southern neighbours—the stats prove that point. Recidivism is far lower in Canada than the US.
Being relatively better is not enough. Too many MMIWG2S+ cases remain unsolved or resolved—period.
We can, and we must, do better as a society, as parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours. We need to teach our children better—especially our boys. Certainly, there are instances of female violence against males, and that too lies beyond the pale, but the numbers tell the tale. Men are more likely to engage in violence against women.
The recent vilification of “woke” attitudes will in no way reduce the tragedy of MMIWG2S+, it will, in plain matter of fact, make things much worse. Empathy provides a path we can, as individuals, take to improve our society. It will never be perfect, but that should not mean we should not try to make it better.
Sadly, that imperfection means there will always be MMIWG2S+, but what can be changed is the indifference with which their plight is met. Together we can make a change, but only if we wake up to the underlying causes and become unapologetically “woke.”
