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By Karli Lewis
Some facts to keep in mind upon the invasion of red dresses and alphabetical hashtags sweeping your newsfeed:
•Indigenous women make up 10% of the women currently missing in Canada. That means that 90% of women missing are non-indigenous. And we can’t even know for sure if they are biological women or men identifying as women as current missing persons data accounts for “gender identity” rather than sex. So who knows how many of that 10% of “missing and murdered women” are actually men.
Recent motions within Canadian parliament have been made to call the 10% a “national genocide”. How can we call 10% a genocide without acknowledging the other 90% as being an even larger genocide? I’d be interested in hearing these activist politicians’ response. It is a pity no side of the House dare pose such questions.
•StatsCan tell us that 22% of the adults missing right now are “non-white”. That would mean that 78% of the adults currently missing in Canada are white. Yet it’s difficult to find data specifying race, when it comes to non-indigenous populations. Instead, you go to look up “missing women by race” and find numerous headlines about “missing white woman syndrome.” You know why it might seem like there is something as absurd as “missing white woman syndrome”? Because the majority of women missing are white.
•The majority of missing people (57%) are identified as males (even though, again, we can’t even know for sure if they are biological males or females identifying as males)
•Similiar to caucasian women, the majority of indigenous women are murdered by a family member or spouse. I feel like too many people carry this false notion that indigenous women are in danger of going missing or getting murdered by someone who isn’t indigenous. I get it; it’s the way this coercive narrative has been framed. But can we please stop acting like we’re suddenly scared of every white guy that happens to drive by on the Rez? The number of these men who’ve turned out to be simple Amazon delivery drivers is getting ridiculous.
•When taking key socioeconomic factors into consideration, like homelessness, history of child abuse, sexual assault, mental health, drug use and trust in neighbours, indigenous people were NOT at a higher risk of victimization than other populations.
•A study from BC found that more than 75% of missing indigenous women were working as prostitutes at the time of disappearance.
On one hand, it’s good that people are being made aware of the dangers of trafficking, and would like to prevent any uptick in this troubling trend.
On the other hand, we should just want ALL women, no matter their race, to be safe. If you’re a decent person who isn’t a full blown racist, you should probably at least try to refrain from using terms like “missing white woman syndrome” whenever you see a woman missing on the news.
I understand it’s difficult to grasp the reality of this situation when the media is constantly bombarbing us with race baiting and divisive rhetoric. But I hope that one day, the irrationally fearful indigenous women, like I once was, can find solace in a more realistic analysis of the popularly misconstrued facts.
Answers elementary school children (and everyone else) should be capable of finding on the web:
(This post originally appeared on Karli’s Substack).
Thanks for reading. For more from this author read Reflecting on the autobiography of Rita Joe
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I saw many girls walking into town on Friday evenings from the reservation we passed to get to the cottage. I was always frightened at their vulnerability. Do you know women who go to the bathroom together. It's because we are all vulnerable.
I hate to say it but predators are often opportunists. Women walking to their car alone..how many have their keyes in their hands like a weapon. Bernardo etc.
Hitchhiking from the reservation makes girls vulnerable. I'd look at transportation systems asap. I bet predators aren't racist I bet they are opportunists.
Dividing us by race really is ugly.
“Indigenous women make up 10% of the women currently missing in Canada. That means that 90% of women missing are non-indigenous.”
Where are the red dresses in trees for them?
Where are the red dresses on school walls for them?