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Aboriginal Women

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Canadian health services delivery has not been sufficient in serving Aboriginal women. Practices and policies of the system has continue to marginalize many aboriginal women in the health care structure (indigenous women, 2005), this is structural violence. “Determinant of health such as gender, cultural heritage, aboriginal status is influenced by the quality and quantity of a variety of resources that a society makes available to its members” (Donna, Jessie, Susan, Buffy, 2008). Many Aboriginal women have low self-esteem (Indigenous politics, 2005), these “internal struggles” have led to many health and social related problems such as alcohol and drug abuse (YWCA Canada). In 2001 the life expectancy was 77 years for Aboriginal women (YWCA …show more content…

Social determinants of health and human development are influenced by the “quality and quantity of a variety of resources that a society makes available to its members, which can range from housing, education, and employment opportunities to the accessibility and quality of life” (YWCA Canada). When socio-economic challenges (poverty, unemployment, discrimination and racism) exist, human development is limited (Amnesty.ca). Limited educational opportunities, insufficient social services, lackadaisical attitudes of the government towards the wellbeing of Aboriginal women often place them in vulnerable positions for domestic abuse and homelessness (Donna, Jessie, Susan, Buffy, …show more content…

NWAC (2010) demonstrated that over half of the cases involved young Aboriginal women and girls under the age of 31 with 17 percent of them being 18 years of age and also majority of the missing and murdered women are mothers (nwac.org). Majority of the case of missing Aboriginal women have occurred in western urban areas (YWCA Canada). 70 of the 582 cases occurred in Ontario (YWCA Canada). In northern Ontario, there was the case of Shirley Taylor (an Aboriginal woman), who was killed in Sudbury in 1999 by her common law partner (YWCA Canada). Few of these cases have been vigorously investigated by police or given attention by the media (nwac.org). This is a form of structural violence, because the government of Canada gave little or no attention to finding these missing women or investigating the cause of their deaths. The most dangerous aspect of this situation (not investigating or no records of missing Aboriginal women) is that serial killers and violent offenders are also aware of the built in limitations of Canadian justice systems which makes the Aboriginal women more vulnerable to violence (Indigenous politics,

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