Sunday, May 18, 2014

Missing and murdered aboriginal women's families want action from RCMP report

CBC News
Loved ones of missing and murdered aboriginal women say they hope the RCMP will follow through on recommendations made in a new report and work more closely with families.
The RCMP's National Operational Overview on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women, released Friday in Winnipeg, found that aboriginal women are over-represented in cases of missing and murdered women compared with non-natives.
The report found that aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the overall Canadian female population yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women.
Officials said there have been 1,181 police-recorded aboriginal homicides and unresolved missing women investigations over the past three decades — a much higher number than previously thought.
"Six years ago, 500 was shocking. But since then it's more than doubled," said Wilfred Catcheway, whose daughter, Jennifer, has been missing since her 18th birthday in 2008.
Bernadette Smith, whose 21-year-old sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing since July 2008, said police and victims' families need to work together.
"We're not asking for information on the case. All we're asking for is, you know, a relationship to be built that's built on trust so that we know that our loved ones' cases aren't sitting on a shelf somewhere," she said.
While RCMP officials spoke to reporters about the report's findings on Friday, a group of people drummed outside and sang an honour song for missing and murdered women...Continue reading...

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