Aboriginal women and girls are strong and beautiful. Unfortunately, they often face life-threatening gender-based violence and disproportionately experience violent crime due to hate and racism (Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women, 2013). According to Statistics Canada, Aboriginal women are three to five times more likely to experience violence than non-Aboriginal women (Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women, 2013). Fortunately, this frightening trend has been noticed and interventions such as the Sisters In Spirit social movement and the Kanawayhitowin campaign have been created to help decrease these violent events. It is important to first explore the violence against Aboriginal women that occurs before evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. As well as being more likely to experience violence, Aboriginal women also experience serious violence more often, 54% of Aboriginal women versus 37% of non-Aboriginal women (Fact Sheet: Violence against Aboriginal Women, 2013). They also fear for their lives 44% of the time, 11% higher than non-Aboriginal women (Fact Sheet: Violence against Aboriginal Women, 2013). Regardless of the statistic, Aboriginal women consistently experienced higher rates. Furthermore, while the number of non-Aboriginal women reporting the most serious forms of violence decreased from 43% in 1999 to 37% in 2004, the number of similar attacks against Aboriginal women remained unchanged at 54% during the same period ( Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women, 2013) demonstrating the need for interventions. In the past, Aboriginal people were treated as uncivilized and socially, culturally and intellectually inferior. They were treated like savages and cor...... middle of paper ......l Approach to working with violent Aboriginal men. Excerpt from Kanawayhitowin: Taking Care of Each Others Spirit: http://www.kanawayhitowin.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=40 Ontario Native Women's Association and Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centers . (2007). A strategic framework to end violence against Aboriginal women. Ottawa: Ontario Native Women's Association and Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres. Samphir, H. (23 September 2013). Canada's rejection of the inquiry into violence against Aboriginal women is a national disgrace. Retrieved from Rabble: News for the Rest of Us: http://rabble.ca/news/2013/09/canadas-rejection-inquiry-violence-against-aboriginal-women-national-disgraceThe Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission. (1999). The justice system and Aboriginal people. Winnipeg: Government of Manitoba.
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