Lorelei Williams, whose cousin Tanya Holyk was murdered by serial killer Robert Pickton and aunt Belinda Williams went missing in 1978, wears a t-shirt bearing their photographs as she and her dance troupe Butterflies in Spirit wait to perform after responding to the report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in Vancouver, on June 3, 2019. Photo Credit: Darryl Dyck/ The Canadian Press
Society CanadaThe Voices of Indigenous Victims Are Finally Heard
Two years after Canadian authorities released a report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, a move to address the inquiry and put an end to the cycle of violence towards minorities is finally in the works – largely thanks to 2,000 testimonies from victims of violence.
The plan pledged “transformative change” to put an end to systemic racism and violence. The success of the plan will be measured by how effectively it “helps achieve the vision of a Canada where Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) people, wherever they are, live free from violence, and are celebrated, honored, respected, valued, safe and secure.”
The plan took shape after collecting testimonies from some 2,000 people who shared the violence they experienced from being a minority. Among the actions proposed are educational campaigns to challenge the normalization of violence, trauma-informed training, victim support services, a nationwide emergency phone number, financial support, and transition shelters.
