Indigenous Family Violence Case Study

In the most recent data available from 2015, it was disclosed that nearly 92,000 Canadians had report to the police an incident related to domestic violence; of this number, 80% of them were women (Burczycka, 2017). It is then no surprise that intimate partnership violence has been found to be one of the major causes of violence against women in Canada (Ministry of the Status of Women, 2015). Many agencies focus on supporting directly the female victims and providing them with secured shelters and safe spaces to rebuild themselves after leaving their abusive relationship (Shelter Safe, 2017). However, a need to address domestic violence from the roots arose in Ontario1982, when the community identified a gap in the offer of programs

Brownridge, D. A. (2003). Male Partner Violence Against Aboriginal Women in Canada: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 65-83. Retrieved f rom DOI: 10.1177/08862605 02238541.

The issue of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Family Law is yet another point of the legal system’s failings. ABS figures show that ATSI women are nine times more likely to be victims of domestic violence, with 70% of ATSI children being subject to abuse (‘Crying out for a new beginning’, March 2013, SMH). Once again, the government’s resource inefficiency is brought into

Out of the shadows and into the limelight, the once hidden crime of domestic violence has recently emerged within the Australian community as a widespread criminal issue. This abuse of power occurs in a relationship when one partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate and control the other. Inflicting physical harm upon another human being is undoubtedly a breach of the criminal law, yet the Australian legal system takes little measures to protect the wider community from this type of violence. According to Family Lawyer Richard Ingleby, domestic violence has often been condoned by the legal system due to the fact that assaults occur in the ‘private’ realm of the home where legal measures are regarded as inappropriate, and interventionist. However, by overlooking domestic violence as a criminal offence, does the Australian legal system fail to adequately protect the family unit from this form of violence? Recent studies from the Australian Bureau of Statics have revealed that 23% of women who have ever been married or engaged in a de facto relationship have experienced violence by a partner at some time during the relationship. Due to the secrecy that once surrounded this kind of abuse, victims often feel unable to speak out and seek help, therefore even large surveys cannot provide accurate estimates of the extend of domestic violence within the Australia community (Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre, 1998). Despite the high incidence rate of

Violence against Aboriginal women is rarely understood as a human rights issue. Aboriginal women are often known to be the main victims of racialized, sexualized violence. To the extent issue, violence against women are more frequent, to be described as a criminal concern or a social issue, but it is a human rights issue to be discussed furthermore. Aboriginal women and girls have the right to be safe and free from violence. Woman are being targeted for violence because of their gender or because of their Aboriginal identity. In this essay, I will be discussing the discrimination between these two following readings, “Orientalism” and “Stolen Sisters, Second Class Citizen”.

Witnesses raised concerns of the non-response of police services to cases of violence against Aboriginal women. In domestic violence situations, police do not always respond in a timely manner to calls for assistance. Witnesses also stated that police sometimes dismiss claims of sexual assault if the woman is Aboriginal and leads a “high-risk” lifestyle.

The Indigenous culture was viewed as inferior and unable to adequately provide for the needs of their children, which was fully fuelled by disproportionate poverty rates as well as the repercussion of residential schools (Russell, 2015). Due to not being able to maintain the standards of European child-rearing practices and common values, social services workers attempted to rescue these children from the conditions they were living in (O’Connor, 2010). These issues have detrimental effects on the families of survivors of the residential schools for generations, also known as multigenerational trauma. Instead of addressing this social policy concern the government was contributing and controlling it, where Indigenous people had little power to address

This is a result of having fused with mainstream culture from their smaller villages there has been a bad transition, which has led to a massive amount of frustration among natives, "strong feeling of disenfranchisement, which manifests itself as violence amongst men and against women." (Robinson, 3). A lack of education for both the indigenous and the other citizens of Canada lead to uneducated assumptions about the aboriginals. There is also an issue with lack of enforcement by Canadian police. The police will often delay responses domestic violence calls or ignore completely, "Most societies prohibit such violence- yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tactically condoned."(“The Facts on Violence against Women”, 2). The transition of indigenous people has been poorly planned and executed which has led to frustrations among everyone that has come out in the form of violence. Another big part is that the citizens of Canada see them as foreign and people who should be treated differently along with the indigenous people not getting proper educations that lead to limited opportunities and lower standings in the government and social lives. The last part of why this dilemma persists is that the Canadian police force hasn’t enforced domestic abuse laws, not responded to calls, and let abusers off the hook for severe crimes. Generally, an incomplete transition by the Canadian government and a lack

“These folks have been victimized twice. Once when their daughters, their sisters, their mothers have gone missing. And then, a second time when the justice system has utterly failed them in the pursuit of the justice they so rightly deserve. There can be no solution until we get to the truth in the heart of the matter, that this is a complex issue. The sources of this violence against Aboriginal women and girls is complex, but it… there’s no possibility of finding those solutions unless we actually have the truth on the table. And the resistance from this government time and time again, to have the courage and the leadership to approach this conversation and find that truth… is yet a third victimization of these families” (Pope C. & Smiley M., 2015)

In the article “Domestic violence against indigenous women is everybody’s problem” domestic violence is depicted as a serious social problem that involves “unspeakable acts of violence” that leaves victims experiencing fear and despair (Taylor 2014). More specifically, the social construction of domestic violence will be discussed with an emphasis on Aboriginal women and a typology of intimate partner violence. The social construction of domestic violence has serious implications for victims of domestic abuse because there is a failure to address the processes that perpetuate the violence. Instead, domestic violence is addressed through the illusion of social support. What is evident is that domestic violence is a social problem that requires comprehensive services, particularly for indigenous women, to address the complexity of the interaction between the individual’s social location and the causes that lead to the violence.

Women no matter where they are in the world are too often victims of violence. They face higher rates than men both if it is sexual assault, stalking, or severe spousal abuse and usually the results are that women will end up extremely injured or dead. With young women suffering the highest rates of violence, Aboriginal women in particular face an increased risk of violence compared to non-Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women in Canada are three times more likely to experience crucial and severe violence compared to non-Aboriginal women. Most of these women end up missing and murdered. The predicaments of missing and murdered Aboriginal women has brought tremendous pain and suffering in homes, in families and throughout Aboriginal communities. Many sources and factors have contributed to hindering solving this issue. Media and discrimination have long been known to have played a huge role in this tragedy.

The over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system is a large problem in society and reasons as to why this may be occurring need to be examined (Walker & McDonald, 1995; AIC, 2013). Indigenous Australians make up less than three per cent of the overall Australian population, however Indigenous people are over-represented in Australian prison populations, with imprisonment rates that are around 12 times those of the rest of the Australian population (AIC, 2013). Rates of over-representation are even higher in juvenile detention, with a 10-17 year old Indigenous person being around 24 times more likely to be in detention than a non-Indigenous person of the same age (AIC, 2013; Cunneen & White, 2011). Indigenous Australians overrepresentation in the criminal justice system is usually due to offences pertaining to violence and public disorder (ABS, 2010; Hogg & Carrignton, 2006). This is endorsed by the fact that Indigenous Australians currently make up 40 per cent of those imprisoned for assault offences (AIC, 2013). The over representation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system may be attributed to a variety of reasons, known as risk factors (AIC, 2013).

Domestic violence is present across America, but the role it has taken in the lives of Native American women is most troubling as it can be harder to track. Tribal sovereignty can at times act as a shield for violence. The independent nature of tribes as nations can impede systems established to prevent reoccurring actions of violence within a society. However, as domestic violence is largely a result of societal systems, it is easiest and most thoroughly examined through narratives.

Family violence is a multifaceted problem in Canada. In the last 20 years, the majority of the provinces and territories have created legislation to address the issue (1). As of 2011, 26% of all crime in Canada was that of family violence with the majority of the victims being female (2). The economic impact in Canada is estimated to be $7.4 billion with over 80% of that cost falling to the victim (3). While the prosecution of these crimes is high, the conviction rate remains low (4). The pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury stated, “Bruises are a much neglected branch of injuries” (5). Given that 71% of the reported family violence cases are physical assaults, most of these victims will have bruises of various ages (6). In such cases,

Domestic violence is a continuous cycle in the Indigenous community as children are exposed to the issue (Al-Yaman, F.2015).In the future it may impact the population of Aboriginal and Torre Straight Islander people (Radio National, 2015).The population could decrease as there is a high rae of deaths due to domestic violence (Mulroney, J. 2015).