Human rights report: B.C. Mounties accused of rape, abuse of aboriginal women

[Judi Lynn]

Human rights report: B.C. Mounties accused of rape, abuse of aboriginal women

A new report by a respected international human rights watchdog has accused RCMP officers of abusing aboriginal women and girls in northern British Columbia.

By: Petti FongWestern Bureau, Published on Wed Feb 13 2013

VANCOUVER—The Prime Minister has a message for Lynnell Halikowski: go public with what she knows.

“If Human Rights Watch, the Liberal Party, or anyone else is aware of serious allegations involving criminal activity, they should give that information to the appropriate police so that they can investigate it,” Stephen Harper said in question period Wednesday, after explosive allegations were made that Mounties in B.C. were abusing aboriginal women. “Just get on and do it.”

That “anyone else” Harper referred to would be someone like Halikowski, a counsellor at the Prince George Sexual Assault Centre. For more than 15 years, Halikowski has tried to make public the fear many of her clients face in a community where police are not trusted.

“The PM obviously doesn’t know what it’s like to live here,” Halikowski said. “It’s not about just going in to make a report and something will be done. That’s not the reality.”

More:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/02/13/human_rights_report_bc_mounties_accused_of_rape_abuse_of_aboriginal_women.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Video: Alleged fear of RCMP shocks abuse report researchers

Video: Alleged fear of RCMP shocks abuse report researchers
Vancouver Sun February 13, 2013

Video

Researchers behind Human Rights Watch report that claims B.C. Mounties abused aboriginal girls and women say the level of fear among interviewees was shocking. The RCMP says it wants to get to the bottom of the allegations in the infamous 'highway murders'.

More: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Video+Alleged+fear+RCMP+shocks+abuse+report+researchers/7959927/story.html#ixzz2Lkq1UiaU

[Judi Lynn]

2. First Nations women abused by Canadian Mounties, HRW reports

Alex Pearlman February 15, 2013 12:38

First Nations women abused by Canadian Mounties, HRW reports

A damning new Human Rights Watch report accuses Canadian police of systemic abuse and discrimination of indigenous women and girls.

(This article references a report and the details therein that are at times gruesome and we should note here that its contents could trigger victims of rape or sexual assault.)

Human Rights Watch released a report on Wednesday detailing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's involvement in a number of cases of rape and abuse of indigenous women and girls, mostly in British Columbia.

The 89-page report, titled “Those Who Take Us Away: Abusive Policing and Failures in Protection of Indigenous Women and Girls in Northern British Columbia, Canada,” elaborates on systemic abuse faced by many indigenous women and girls. (PDF)

The RCMP have a history of abuse and discrimination against Canada's native population, according to the report. Through interviews with victims and witnesses, HRW compiled compelling evidence that officers repeatedly punched handcuffed 17-year-old girls, have abducted and raped young native women for decades, and use discriminatory practices in investigating missing women and imprisoning intoxicated youths.

HRW decided to investigate after hearing reports of numerous missing and murdered First Nations women along British Columbia's Highway 16, known locally as the "Highway of Tears." Police have given investigative priority to missing Caucasian women, despite the numbers showing that the majority of women who are attacked there are native. Native women report police often not investigating missing persons cases for months.

The First Nations are the assorted tribes of Aboriginal peoples of North America, of which there are hundreds. They have distinct ethnicities and cultures from each other, similar to the Native Americans of the United States, but they have mostly all been victims of a culture of prejudice, if not outright disdain, by Canadians and specifically the Harper government.

More:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/hrw-report-first-nations-women-abused-canadian-mounties

[Mojorabbit]

3. This makes me so very angry. nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

4. goddammit, makes me want to cry

Harper's conservative, right?

Goddammit I'm sick of the constant reports of atrocities against women.

Goddammit, what the HELL is wrong with men?