May 5 is the National Day for Awareness of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and Gender-Diverse People (MMIWG2S+), also known as “Red Dress Day”, coined by Métis artist Jamie Black as “an aesthetic response to this critical national issue.”
Throughout its history, Canada has contributed to the ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, and gender-diverse people. As a result, violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, and gender-diverse people is disproportionately high.
On May 5, we honour the lives of MMIWG2S+ by raising awareness of this ongoing national tragedy, and we hold in our thoughts the families and communities who live with the grief of losing loved ones.
Indigenous women are four times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be victims of violence.
Indigenous women make up 16% of all female homicide victims, and 11% of missing women, yet Indigenous people make up only 4.3% of the population of Canada.
Indigenous women are twice as likely to experience violence from their current or former partner.
A little more than 13% of Indigenous people experience violence from their current or ex-partner, a proportion twice as high as non-Indigenous people (5.7%).
Indigenous women are more likely to experience physical and sexual assault than non-Indigenous women.
56% of Indigenous women have suffered physical assault, and 46% have experienced sexual assault. By comparison, about one-third of non-Indigenous women have suffered these assaults in their lifetimes.
(Source: https://afn.ca/rights-justice/murdered-missing-indigenous-women-girls/)