Feminist Looking Glass

When we in America think about the problems facing women outside of the United States, we often focus on the problems in developing countries.  But, just as we know that there are major problems here in the United States, the problems throughout the world include problems in developed countries.  One example is Canada.  The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) issued a new report today claiming that the Canadian government has failed to act on two human rights violations that were identified by a 2008 review conducted by the United Nations CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) committee tasked with reviewing Canada’s human rights record for women.  Specifically, the committee identified the following two areas in which human rights violations were so pressing that they required immediate action:

(1) Persistent failure to provide adequate social assistance to women and
girls living in poverty;

(2) Endemic violence against Aboriginal women and girls.

Among other serious concerns is the fact that 520 disappearances and murders of aboriginal women and girls have been documented by the Native Women’s Association of Canada and about half of those have occurred since 2000. The report alleges that the Canadian government has failed to take effective steps to protect aboriginal women and girls from violence and to investigate that violence promptly and effectively when it occurs.  Although the government says that it has established two intergovernmental working groups, there has been no action.

FAFIA says that Prime Minister Harper has shown concern for the for the health and well-being of women in the developing world, but that he has not shown concern for the poorest women in Canada.  The group says that “[t]he Government of Canada has taken no steps to ensure that social assistance rates across the country are adequate to meet the basic needs of women and children, and to promote the equality of women, as the UN Committee urged.”