Silence and Indifference: Indigenous women testify to police violence

Demonstration in solidarity with the women of Val-d'Or

Marianne Breton Fontaine

On Thursday, October 22 2015, a team from Radio-Canada’s show Survey ran a shocking report on multiple cases of rape and the sexual abuse of Indigenous women in Val-d’Or. Originally, the team of journalists was not investigating these cases but rather the disappearance of Indigenous women and particularly that of Sindy Ruperthouse, an Algonquin whose disappearance in the of Spring 2014 demonstrated the shameful indifference of the media and Quebec authorities.

Feb 14th Actions for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women [Photos]

In dozens of cities across Canada on Feb 14th, memorial marches and events took place in commemoration of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Here are photos submitted to Rebel Youth from Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Toronto

Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: actions across Canada Feb 14th

Shafiqullah Aziz/ BASICS News

YCL-LJC Women's Commission's call for mobilization

This Valentine’s Day, the annual memorial march will honour the lives and memories of women who have been lost to gendered violence. The march, founded in Vancouver in 1991, first came about in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman that received little attention by police or media. Although the march commemorates women of all backgrounds, emphasis will be given to native women, who are the disproportionate targets of this systemic violence.

The recently launched inquest is welcome news, but we need more than just words - we need real change!

Harper Vs. Women

by Marianne Breton Fontaine

Rape culture, discrimination, poverty, violence, etc.; the list of evils of patriarchy is long. One might think that every year, the status of women is improving in Canada. But it’s not, and it's not just women's groups and the left that say so. According to the World Economic Forum, Canada’s place on the international gender equality index has steadily declined from 7th place in 2004, to 25th in 2009. This is not a coincidence; it is the result of clear policies enacted against the advancement of women's equality. Yes, Harper is anti-women!

Funding for women's groups

Since Stephen Harper took power in 2006, the Conservative government gradually eliminated funding for groups that promote women's rights. For example, he has closed 12 of the 16 regional offices of Status of Women Canada. The Conservatives have made significant changes to the funding criteria of women's organizations, saying that they will only fund groups that are “directly involved” with women. In other words, groups that were doing research on issues affecting women, defending feminist positions or lobbying on women’s issues are no longer considered eligible for funding. Harper did not stop there. He also removed the word "equality" from the ministry’s objectives. Thus, groups such as the Victoria Status of Women Action Group (SWAG) and the Coalition for Pay Equity in New Brunswick saw their funding cut drastically, and in some cases these groups have had to close their doors permanently.

Equality for Women is Progress for All

IWD 2014 greetings from the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League of Canada

For over a century, March 8 has been the international day to honour the women in all countries who strive to achieve full equality. On IWD 2014, the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League of Canada send our warmest greetings to all women in the fight against poverty, austerity, violence, misogyny and war. As the United Nations has declared for this year's IWD, "equality for women is progress for all."

Here, the ruling class claims that Canada is a country of equality, fairness and social justice. Yet recent years have seen huge struggles around issues such as access to education, pay equity, union rights, jobs, devastation of the environment, deportations of migrants. Women have played a leading role in the Quebec student strike, the Idle No More movement, grassroots environmental struggles, and defence of labour and social rights.

Supreme court strikes down prostitution laws

By Jane Bouey,
Peoples Voice Newspaper

            In a unanimous landmark decision on Dec. 20, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down three provisions of Canada's Criminal Code: s. 210 (keeping or being found in a bawdy house), s. 212(1)(j) (living on the avails of prostitution), and s. 213(1)(c) (communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution). The Court found that those provisions violate the right to security of the person protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and gave the federal government one year to change the laws.

            The Bedford case was initiated in 2007 by three Ontario sex workers. Terri Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott challenged the laws which they believe violate sex workers' constitutional right to security of the person.

            The Supreme Court decision stated, "The prohibitions at issue do not merely impose conditions on how prostitutes operate. They go a critical step further, by imposing dangerous conditions on prostitution; they prevent people engaged in a risky ‑ but legal ‑ activity from taking steps to protect themselves from the risk."    

International Women's Day 2013

Statement by the Central Women’s Commission, Communist Party of Canada and endorsed by the Young Communist League of Canada

March 8 is a day to honour women’s struggles, take stock of hard‑won gains, and to demand full equality.

This year, International Women’s Day comes amidst inspiring new struggles. Working people around the world, particularly in Europe, continue their huge struggles against austerity measures. In Canada we saw students in Quebec rose up, leading a fight against tuition fee increases, against neo‑liberal policies, and in opposition to a draconian bill that attempted to repress dissent. The result: the Quebec Liberal government’s defeat at the polls, a tuition freeze and the scrapping of Loi 10. Young women played a key and leading role in that struggle.

The “Idle No More” movement has initiated an historic struggle against Bill C‑45 and the entire racist agenda of the Harper Tory government.

Canada: Abusive Policing, Neglect Along "Highway of Tears"

Media report on the Highway of Tears

Human Rights Watch yesterday joined calls for the establishment of a Cross-Canada inquiry into the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls. Their full release is below. Rebel Youth reprints this also as part of a series of articles we are running in the lead-up to International Women's Day.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in northern British Columbia has failed to protect indigenous women and girls from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Women and girls Human Rights Watch interviewed also described abusive treatment by police officers, including excessive use of force, and physical and sexual assault.