Behind the Pandemic in Aboriginal Communities - Interagency ...

Gender and Gender Inequalities• Gender norms and inequalities between men/boys and women/girls contribute toHIV epidemics around the world.• For Aboriginal women, gender cannot be viewed in isolation. Rather, it overlaps withrace and social location to produce intense disadvantages rooted in the historicaland current marginalization of Aboriginal women. In order for a gender analysis toapply to an Aboriginal context in a meaningful way, a culturally relevant approachincorporates values and traditional teachings intended to promote a greater degreeof equality between men and women.• A gender-balanced approach has more relevance with First Nations culturalphilosophies of traditional egalitarian societies and is a noble way to combatcolonization. Furthermore, traditional gender-balanced societies encourage respectfor all members of society - including women, men, boys, girls, elders, two-spiritedand transgender people.• Aboriginal women often make up a larger percentage of individuals testing positivefor HIV. In Canada, Aboriginal women make up almost half of the HIV positivetests for which ethnic status is known. And in Canada’s poorest neighbourhood(Downtown Eastside, Vancouver), Aboriginal women living with HIV are more likelyto die than other Vancouver women.• Gender combines with other social characteristics like age, race, and ethnicity tocreate poor health for Aboriginal women, girls, and transgender people.• Aboriginal women are often said to be the poorest of the poor. Women who lackeconomic security may have little power in their intimate relationships, or decide toengage in commercial sex work to make ends meet.Gender-based violence• Aboriginal women and girls face high rates of sexualized and racialized violence. Thisincludes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from an intimate partner or familymember; targeted violence against Aboriginal sex workers; intimidation and verbalabuse; rape; and witnessing violence against other Aboriginal women.• Internationally, Indigenous women are victims of sexual violence at alarming ratesand this can be viewed as an extension of on-going colonization, racism, militarism,displacement, and poverty-inducing models of economic development.• Attempts to address gender-violence must be created with the meaningfulparticipation of Indigenous women themselves based on their holistic vision ofwellness and socio-political realities.Child Welfare System• Many Aboriginal people who are living with HIV and/or belong to groups particularlyvulnerable to HIV infection (such as women, sex workers, injecting drug users andstreet-involved youth) have been in foster care as children and youth.• Aboriginal children, specifically First Nations children, continue to be overrepresentedin the child welfare system of Canada.• Poverty, substance misuse, and poor housing are cited as key factors contributing tothe elevated rates of Aboriginal children being placed in care. These factors must beunderstood in the broader structural context linked to the socio-economic conditionsof Aboriginal peoples, the results of which are not fully reflective of personal deficits.• Once placed in care, Aboriginal children often experience further trauma. They82