Sonya Nadine Mae Cywink was an Ojibway woman from Whitefish River First Nation. She was just 31 when she was found dead near London, Ontario. Over two decades later, her case remains unsolved.
Sonya is but one in over 1,200 murdered and missing Aboriginal women in Canada. Violence against First Nation, Inuit and Métis women in Canada has reached a crisis level — Aboriginal women are three times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Aboriginal women in Canada. And while Aboriginal women represent just 4.3% of the female population in Canada, they make up 16% of all murdered women, and 11% of all missing women.
After many years of action demanding a national inquiry into this human rights crisis, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded. The inquiry will start this summer.
Now is our chance to ensure that the national inquiry leads to a comprehensive action plan that addresses the root of the crisis at all levels of Canadian society. Key recommendations from the Native Women's Association of Canada include following a human rights framework to investigate systemic failures that have fostered racial, sexual and gender-based violence.
Throughout the inquiry, the government must continue to listen to stories like Sonya's. "I just don't want this to happen to my nieces, to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren," urges Sonya's sister.
Please sign the petition to join her in seeking justice for Sonya and all other murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada.
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
While we welcome the national inquiry into the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada, we acknowledge that the hardest part lays ahead of us.
A symposium organized by the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA), and the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law (CJWL) have laid a groundwork to help ensure that the national inquiry leads to a comprehensive action plan that addresses the root of the crisis. Recommendations include:
- moving forward with a human rights framework
- investigating systemic failures that foster violence against Indigenous women
- inclusion of and reconciliation for affected families
- focus on violence stemming from discrimination based on both gender and race
To ensure that the national inquiry leads to justice for all murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada, I urge you to implement each of the 22 recommendations laid out here: http://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NWAC-FAFIAsymposium_22reccommendations_2016_EN.pdf
[Your comments here]
Thank you for doing all that you can to bring justice to our stolen sisters.
Sincerely
[Your name]
