PATRIARCHY IS FEMICIDE

Thousands join global outcry over violence against women


Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Europe and Latin America on Thursday to demand an end to violence against women, with police in Turkey firing teargas to disperse the demonstrators.

© Adem ALTAN Police fired teargas on the Ankara protesters

The rallies took place to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with thousands marching through Madrid and Barcelona, while others gathered in Paris and London and more rallied in Guatemala and Honduras.

 

© GABRIEL BOUYS People hold a banner reading "Sex is not gender. The Constitution protects us" during a demonstration in Madrid

Protesters were also expected to hit the streets in Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.

But things turned ugly in Istanbul after riot police fired tear gas to break up a demonstration by hundreds of protesters urging the government to rejoin an international treaty designed to protect women.

The Turkish government had abandoned the landmark Istanbul Convention earlier this year on grounds its gender equality principles undermined traditional family values, in a move that angered women campaigners.

So far this year, 345 women have been killed in Turkey, rights groups say.

In Spain, where the government has made the fight against domestic violence a national priority, thousands hit the streets of Madrid and Barcelona in a sea of purple flags, while others rallied in Valencia, Seville and other cities around the country.

In the Spanish capital, marchers wearing purple masks, hats and scarves walked behind a huge banner reading "Enough of male violence against women. Solutions now!"

"Not all of us are here, the murdered are missing," they chanted as they marched past the Cibeles fountain and other historic buildings that had been illuminated in purple, holding signs reading "Not even one more death".

- 'A global scourge' -

"On a global level, it remains a scourge and a huge problem," Leslie Hoguin, a 30-year-old student and actor told AFP.

"It's high time that patriarchal violence against our bodies, our lives and our decisions came to an end."

Many were fed up of the ongoing abuse faced by women.

"We are sick of the ongoing violence against us which takes many different forms," said Maria Moran, a 50-year-old civil servant.

"We want to see prostitution abolished and an end to the murders, the abuse and the rapes."

Back in 2004, Spain's parliament overwhelmingly approved Europe’s first law cracking down on gender-based violence.

"Eradicating sexist violence is a national priority," tweeted Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a self-described feminist whose cabinet is dominated by women.

"We will only be a just society when we are done with all kinds of violence against women."

- 'Living in danger' -

So far this year, 37 women in Spain have been killed by their partners or ex-partners, and 1,118 since 2003 when the government started keeping a tally.

Nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly by someone they know, according to UN Women, the United Nations' organisation for gender equality.

"Violence against women is a global crisis. In all of our own neighbourhoods there are women and girls living in danger," executive director Sima Bahous said in a video message.

Pope Francis also weighed in.

"Women victims of violence must be protected by society," he tweeted.

"The various forms of mistreatment that many women suffer are cowardly and represent degradation for men and for all of humanity. We cannot look away."

burs-hmw/ach

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. To mark this occasion, our reporters went to the "Breaking the Silence Festival" in Lyon, a key annual event in the fight against domestic violence.

French app fighting violence against women brings a ‘revolution’ to Morocco

A French app called The Sorority, aimed at preventing violence against women, was launched a year ago and has recently made its debut in Morocco. It has been a breath of fresh air for its early adopters in the North African country, who denounce what they see as a society plagued by sexual violence. 

“If we can help female victims of violence in France, we can do it in every country,” said Priscilla Routier Trillard, a 34-year-old Parisian, describing her decision to export The Sorority to the other side of the Mediterranean. 

Launched in France in September 2020, The Sorority became available in Morocco on October 16. The app relies on women to protect each other from violence – whether at home, at work or on the street – with an alarm system that sends an alert if someone nearby is in imminent danger using geolocation technology. Instant messaging then allows the victim to contact other users and get help immediately. The messaging function also allows users to get moral support from other women.

 ‘A real social problem’ 

Sarah*, 32, was one of the first Moroccan women to join The Sorority. From the age of 14, she faced regular harassment when walking to and from school. A boy physically attacked her younger sister Amal*, who was 13 at the time. 

The two sisters grew up in the upscale Les Princesses area of Casablanca. But in Morocco, Sarah said, “you can be harassed anywhere by any type of man”.

Asma El Ouerkhaoui was similarly quick to join The Sorority upon its launch in Morocco. A 39-year-old computer scientist living in Rabat, she dresses like a tomboy. “It would be too risky to wear a skirt,” she said. “But traditional dress doesn’t protect you either; friends of mine who wear a veil are also targeted.” 

Sarah said that “the moment an abuser recognises you’re a woman, you’re screwed. It doesn’t matter what type of fabric is covering you.” 

She never felt such a “threat” when living in France, said Sarah, who studied law in Bordeaux. “There’s a real social problem in Morocco; we need to stop hiding our faces with veils.”  

Like all the Moroccan Sorority members who spoke with FRANCE 24, Sarah said that harassment started as soon as she went through puberty.

“As a Moroccan woman, it becomes clear that you’re no longer a child when certain men – men your father’s age – look at you with a lustful gaze.” 

Victim-blaming 

The list of recent sexual assault incidents in Morocco is staggering: Sexual abuse is filmed and broadcast on the Internet by the perpetrators; a string of incest cases hushed up by families; the rape of children; a 96-year-old woman sexually abused by a group of young people. 

The figures are striking too: A 2019 survey by Morocco’s Ministry of the Family showed that more than half of Moroccan women say they have been victims of sexual violence. But only 6 percent of them have dared to file an official complaint – and less than 10 percent of female victims of domestic violence leave abusive spouses. 

All the people contacted by FRANCE 24 said they know women who have been raped or beaten by their husbands. None of them felt they could speak on the record, despite a promise of anonymity. 

Zainab Aboulfaraj, a journalist from Casablanca, said this was unsurprising. “The most conservative fringe of Moroccan society manages to propagate the idea that many women who have been raped deserved what happened to them – whether because of their behaviour or because of what they were wearing.” Consequently, it is deemed “extremely shameful” for women to talk about rape, she continued. 

Working on a project in the spring of 2020, Aboulfaraj thought it would be impossible to talk to rape victims about what they went through. “The victim support associations I contacted thought I was crazy,” she said. After several months, four women finally agreed to talk to her. But they kept their first names and details of where they lived a secret even from her.   

Thus the web series #TaAnaMeToo (“#I am also MeToo”) was born. Four rape victims broke their silence through the anonymity provided by the animated format. 

Aboulfaraj had long hidden her own trauma as if it were a form of shame. Before now she had never dared tell anyone about the day when a gang of boys surrounded, attacked and groped her in Rabat when she was 14.

“I healed my own wounds by helping other women heal theirs,” she said.  

A small audience, for now 

“If only I could have used an app like The Sorority in 2004,” said Loubna Rais, an international development consultant. One night that year, Rais miraculously survived an attempted rape and found herself all alone in an unfamiliar town. 

Along with other activists from the Masaktach (“We won’t be silent”) association, Rais had long dreamed of an app like The Sorority.  

Now she is one of 117 Moroccan women who have downloaded the app. But only about 40 of them – mainly in the major cities of Rabat and Casablanca – have actually registered on The Sorority 

Morocco enjoys relatively good Internet access, and 75 percent of Moroccans own a smartphone. But there may be an intrinsic flaw in the app.

With the monthly minimum wage at 2,929 Dirham (€271) and Internet access costing 10 Dirham (€1) per gigabyte, what percentage of the Moroccan population can actually afford to participate in The Sorority, asked Raw, the creator of Sobisate.tv, an Instagram channel dedicated to feminist causes in North Africa.

“Let’s also not forget that this is a French-language app, so it doesn’t reach the majority of the Moroccan population, who either read only in Arabic or are illiterate,” said Raw, who uses a pseudonym and who has nevertheless signed up with The Sorority. 

But victim-blaming remains a big problem. In January 2021, the well-known Moroccan dancer Maya Dbaich mocked some rape victims by saying “they were asking for it”. 

In September, a video of the sexual assault of a young woman in Tangier in northern Morocco was shared online by a 15-year-old boy. That gave rise to a widely viewed interview on the ChoufTV network in which a female neighbour of the attacker came to his defence and blamed the woman. 

The Moroccan media has made much of the fact that women also blame the victims. But Sarah said it is important not to fall into the simplistic trap of thinking that “women are the worst enemy of other women”. 

“The society in which we live instils in everyone the idea that women are at fault,” Sarah said. “And some women have internalised this way of thinking.” 

Although the picture looks gloomy, “the winds of change are blowing in Morocco”, according to Aboulfaraj. 

“The Moroccan youth was once quite reserved, but now they have social media,” she said. She, too, decided to join The Sorority after speaking to FRANCE 24.  

Instagram accounts such as Sobiaste.tv and La vie d’une Marocaine (“The Life of a Moroccan Woman”) have relayed hundreds of testimonies about the abuse suffered by women and girls in Morocco. 

But these posts aren’t just shining a light on sexual violence – they are also denouncing the Moroccan state and the cultural norms that help cover it up. 

Patriarchal societies in general, and Morocco in particular, try to instill a belief that women should see other females – first and foremost – as rivals, Sarah said.

“But The Sorority is bringing a kind of revolution in Morocco, because it shows us that isn’t true.” 

The people behind the app have been holding training sessions to prepare people for situations in which they have to help women under attack. During one early test, Sarah sent out a false alarm. Several app users immediately got in touch with her, ready to take action to get her out of harm’s way.

“I understood then that The Sorority could inspire women to travel for miles to rescue a complete stranger,” she said. “That filled me with renewed strength.” 

*Names were changed to ensure anonymity.

This article was translated from the original in French.

ALBERTA
Province proposes public online teacher database

The province is proposing legislation that would create a public and searchable online database of Alberta teacher information.

The database would include the status of teachers' certificates including any that have been suspended or cancelled due to unprofessional conduct or professional incompetence.

The Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) says that a number of the changes to the legislation are ones that it has worked on with the province and have been best practices of the industry.

“We're welcoming the changes and we recognize that the (province) is modernizing our process and actually doing a lot to modernize the government's process that it uses for private charter schools and superintendents,” Jonathan Teghtmeyer, spokesperson for the ATA, told the News.

The province says that making the process more transparent will ensure the safety of students and create more confidence for parents, who will be able to see if a teacher has been disciplined for a serious matter.

“We think that the public should have confidence that issues related to teacher behaviour and teacher conduct have been handled effectively and appropriately, both in the past and going forward,” said Teghtmeyer.

“This legislation is really about modernizing the processes and taking a look at processes that really haven't been re-examined for many, many years.”

Education minister Adriana LaGrange said the vast majority of teachers across Alberta are “incredible, hard-working educators who have the best interest of their students at heart.”

However, she said where instances of professional misconduct or criminal wrongdoing arise, they “need to be dealt with quickly and transparently.”

The province says if a teacher is convicted of a serious indictable offence under the Criminal Code that threatens student safety, the proposed legislation will ensure a quick process to cancel the teaching certificate.

“The (ATA) believes the public should have confidence that teacher conduct is being handled effectively and appropriately by the association,” said Teghtmeyer. “If this legislation helps bolster that confidence, that's a good thing.”

The legislation will require school authorities to conduct criminal record and vulnerable sector checks upon employing a teacher or teacher leader, and then every five years onward while employed.

Teghtmeyer said that these checks are currently done at different stages of employment as well; if a teacher is convicted of an offence, it is reported to the school board and the ATA.

“It has been the practice of school boards to require criminal record and vulnerable sector checks,” said Teghtmeyer.

“It has been the practice of the government to require criminal record checks in order to get certification.

“When the minister says that it's not been in legislation before that is technically true, it hasn't been required by law, but it's important to note that it generally has been the practice.”

The proposed legislation hopes to reduce the judicial review of disciplinary decisions from six months to 60 days.

The legislation will also require the ATA to notify Alberta Education's registrar at various stages of a complaint process.

“We think that the public should have confidence that matters related to teacher behaviour and conduct have been handled effectively and appropriately both in the past and going forward,” said Teghtmeyer.

“We look forward to continuing to enhance our processes to ensure that our ability to uphold high standards of conduct to protect the public interest and contribute toward public assurance or maintained.”

Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News

Liberals introduce bill with targeted pandemic aid for businesses, workers


OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals have outlined their latest aid package for an economy recovering from COVID-19, proposing targeted support to severely affected businesses, locked-down workers, and extra weeks of benefits that expired just days ago.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The legislation introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons is one of four bills the government wants MPs to pass before the middle of December ahead of a scheduled winter break.


The Liberals are proposing to send $300 per week to workers who find themselves off the job because of a pandemic-related lockdown between now and spring 2022.

The bill would let cabinet decide which regions are considered in lockdown, defined as an order for businesses to close and workers to stay home for at least 14 straight days. It would block benefits to those who refuse to get vaccinated.

Payments would be retroactive to Oct. 24 when the Liberals let a pandemic-era benefit for the unemployed expire. The Canada Recovery Benefit's siblings — sickness and caregiver benefits — would each get revived after expiring this past weekend with two more weeks of eligibility until May 7.

Wage and rent subsidies for businesses would be more generous and targeted over that same period to the still-hurting tourism, culture and hospitality sectors, as well as a long list of establishments such as movie theatres, arcades, casinos and gyms.

All would need to prove a deep and prolonged revenue loss to qualify.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, praised the extended list of eligible companies but said the high bar for revenue losses would leave out too many small businesses.

Similarly, Restaurants Canada asked the Liberals to lower the revenue-loss requirement over worries that many financially viable operations won't survive the pandemic.

"We have been asking for months for sector-specific support and we just got a small portion of what we asked," said Olivier Bourbeau, the association's vice-president of federal and Quebec affairs.

The government also wants to extend to May a hiring credit for companies that add to their payrolls by boosting wages, rehiring laid-off workers, or new hires. The credit doesn't require as deep a revenue loss to qualify.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the economy is no longer in the same crisis that gripped the country at the onset of the pandemic when three million jobs were lost over March and April of 2020.

"I see this legislation as very much the last step in our COVID support programs. It is what I really hope and truly believe is the final pivot," Freeland said.

Employment has since rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, although the ranks of Canada's unemployed, including those who have been without a job for six months or more, remain higher than before COVID-19.

The mix of high unemployment and labour shortages helps explain why the government wants to target aid, hoping it jump-starts job hiring.

An analysis of survey data by job-posting site found more respondents were actively looking for work last month compared to July, August and September, and most described their search as "urgent."

Senior economist Brendon Bernard wrote that urgent job searches are usually linked to financial difficulties, suggesting the findings may be an early warning of strain for households.

The minority Liberals estimate the new aid package would cost $7.4 billion, and the government needs parliamentary approval to spend the money.

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois separately on Tuesday suggested they may support the bill — the former because benefits will go where needed most, the latter because it would mean help for cultural workers.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Tuesday his party wouldn't support the bill unless the government reversed drops in income-tested benefits for low-income seniors and families who received aid last year, which boosted their overall income.

In a letter Wednesday, NDP finance critic Daniel Blaikie asked House Speaker Anthony Rota for an emergency debate to press the government on a plan to help "these financially vulnerable Canadians before they lose their home."

Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told reporters later in the day that the government was searching for a solution, but didn't want the fix to create extra inequities for those whose benefits were rolled back because they simply earned more without aid.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2021.

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

Finland plans to let workers see what their colleagues earn in order to reduce the gender pay gap, and one leading expert says it could help people negotiate pay rises

sjones@insider.com (Stephen Jones) 

© Provided by Business Insider Helsinki, Finland. Lingxiao Xie / Getty Images

Finland announced proposals to let workers know how much their colleagues earn.
Ministers hope that the extra transparency will help to reduce the country's gender pay gap.

Some studies suggest that being open about pay can improve pay equality,

Politicians in Finland have proposed a bill that would let workers see how much their colleagues earn.

Equality minister Thomas Blomqvist told Reuters that the proposed policy aims to reduce Finland's gender pay gap. Men in Finland earned, on average, 17.2% more than women in 2020, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Some Finnish employer groups have criticized the proposals, saying it would lead to conflict between workers — a view commonly expressed by opponents of pay transparency, which is still seen as a taboo in many workplaces in the UK and US. Some workers are even gagged from telling their colleagues how much they're paid.

But being more transparent can help reduce pay gaps, Almudena Sevilla, professor of economics and public policy at University College London and chair of the Royal Economic Society Women's Committee, told Insider.

According to her research into the impact of pay transparency within UK universities, the gender pay gap reduced by 4.37% in the years after the salaries of academics were made publicly available in 2007. This fall was driven largely by female academics negotiating higher wages or moving to universities where pay was more equal, per the research.

"When pay transparency is there, when you know your wage, then individual's react and they ask for either higher wages or they change companies to get those higher wages," Sevilla told Insider.

The gender pay gap is the difference in gross annual earnings between men and women. It's influenced by multiple factors, including that there are more men in senior positions.

When it comes to the wider impact of pay transparency, studies tend to be split. Some suggest employees are less motivated when they know their colleagues are paid more — other studies disagree.

Another working paper found pay transparency led to lower average wages within some organizations. Employers refused to negotiate with any one single employee in order to avoid having to increase the pay of others, the paper found.

Sevilla said the impact of pay transparency depends on how fair a person perceives their organization to be, and how individual companies communicate with their staff.
Finland's policy represents "the next step" in pay legislation

Finland isn't the first country to advocate for gender pay gap transparency.

In Denmark, for example, companies with 35 or more employees have to publish gender specific pay information.

In the UK, companies with more than 250 employees have had to publish their gender pay gap since 2017. The gender pay gap has decreased over time, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics, although reporting was disrupted by the pandemic.

In the US, certain states — including California, Connecticut, Nevada, Colorado, and Rhode Island — have either introduced or are in the process of introducing legislation that says employers must provide job applicants with more information about how much they pay their existing employees. Colorado is going the furthest by requiring employers to provide salary ranges in every job advertisement.

Finland's proposal, which is still being drafted and which the government hopes to pass before April 2023, could be "the next level" in pay transparency, Sevilla said, because it will give people more specific data with which to negotiate pay rises.

Pinterest puts $50 million into diversity programs and releases former employees from NDAs in a settlement with shareholders following harassment claims

ajoyner@businessinsider.com (April Joyner) 

 Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. 

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Pinterest will invest $50 million into DEI initiatives as part of a settlement with its shareholders, the parties announced Wednesday.

The company will also no longer enforce non-disclosure agreements when employees discuss mistreatment.

The shareholders claimed Pinterest breached its fiduciary duty by failing to respond sufficiently to discrimination allegations.

Pinterest is committing $50 million to diversity, equity, and inclusion reforms after a group of shareholders filed suit against its board following claims of a toxic environment for women and Black workers at the company. The terms of the settlement were announced late on Wednesday after market close.

As part of those reforms, the social image-sharing company will not enforce non-disclosure agreements for former employees who speak out about workplace mistreatment or harassment. Earlier this year, Pinterest said that it would no longer require outgoing employees to sign them.

Additionally, Pinterest will designate a member of its board to co-sponsor DEI initiatives alongside CEO Ben Silbermann and undergo audits twice a year to examine pay equity. The company will also set up an office, run by a third party, where employees can go for advice in pursuing complaints.

These measures come as a result of a settlement with three of Pinterest's shareholders — the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island, Stephen Bushansky, and Sal Toronto, a trustee of the Elliemaria Toronto ESA — who had filed suit against the company's board of directors last December, claiming that it breached its fiduciary duty by failing to respond sufficiently to discrimination allegations.




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Each of the three complainants are smaller shareholders with less than 5% of the company, according to a recent proxy statement. Silbermann, Pinterest's CEO, owns nearly 8% of the company, according to Bloomberg.

Rhode Island's treasurer, Seth Magaziner, who acted on behalf of the state's employee retirement system, announced the settlement. The law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC represented both parties.

Pinterest has come under controversy for its treatment of employees and what some have called a "toxic" workplace for women and Black employees. Last year, two Black former employees, Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, publicly alleged that they were paid unfairly and were retaliated against by their supervisors. Insider spoke with 11 former employees who described an environment in which workers were publicly humiliated and subject to sudden firings.

Later that year, Françoise Brougher, Pinterest's former COO, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company, alleging that she was paid less than male executives and left out of important meetings and events, including the company's initial public offering roadshow. The company paid her $22.5 million in a settlement.

Pinterest's latest settlement with its shareholders codifies several DEI initiatives the company has put in place since the allegations put forth by Ozoma, Shimizu Banks, and Brougher. Last December, for instance, the company announced the formation of an inclusion advisory council, which has representatives from organizations such as the NAACP, The National Transgender Center for Equality, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

The company already releases a diversity report, which will now come twice a year for the next two years and annually thereafter, according to the settlement.

Pinterest will now have a dedicated inclusive product team staffed with current employees across its departments. It already has a head of inclusive product and has rolled out several features, such as skin-tone searches, to make its product more inviting to people from different backgrounds.

The company will also pay a set stipend to the leads of its employee resource groups, who will have term limits. Co-presidents of those groups will receive $5,000 per year, and vice presidents will receive $2,500 per year.

Afghan girl from famous cover portrait is evacuated to Italy

ROME (AP) — National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” has arrived in Italy as part of the West’s evacuation of Afghans following the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government said Thursday.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The office of Premier Mario Draghi said Italy organized the evacuation of Sharbat Gulla after she asked to be helped to leave the country. The Italian government will now help to get her integrated into life in Italy, the statement said.

Gulla gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after war photographer Steve McCurry’s photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on the cover of National Geographic. McCurry found her again in 2002.

In 2014, she surfaced in Pakistan but went into hiding when authorities accused her of buying a fake Pakistani identity card and ordered her deported. She was flown to Kabul where the president hosted a reception for her at the presidential palace and handed her keys to a new apartment.

Italy was one of several Western countries that airlifted hundreds of Afghans out of the country following the departure of U.S. forces and the Taliban takeover in August.

In a statement announcing Gulla’s arrival in Rome, Draghi’s office said her photograph had come to “symbolize the vicissitudes and conflict of the chapter in history that Afghanistan and its people were going through at the time.”

It said it had received requests “by those in civil society, and in particular by non-profit organizations working in Afghanistan” backing Gulla's plea for help to leave the country.

Italy organized her travel to Italy “as part of the wider evacuation program in place for Afghan citizens and the government’s plan for their reception and integration,” the statement said.

The Associated Press

Native American leaders say Chaco prayers being answered

CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, N.M. (AP) — The stillness that enveloped Chaco Canyon was almost deafening, broken only by the sound of a raven's wings batting the air while it circled overhead.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Then a chorus of leaders from several Native American tribes began to speak, their voices echoing off the nearby sandstone cliffs. They spoke of a deep connection to the canyon — the heart of Chaco Culture National Historic Park — and the importance of ensuring that oil and gas development beyond the park's boundaries does not sever that tie for future generations.

The Indigenous leaders from the Hopi Tribe in Arizona and several New Mexico pueblos were beyond grateful that the federal government is taking what they believe to be more meaningful steps toward permanent protections for cultural resources in northwestern New Mexico.

It's a fight they've been waging for years with multiple presidential administrations. They're optimistic the needle is moving now that one of their own — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — holds the reins of the federal agency that oversees energy development and tribal affairs.

Haaland, who is from Laguna Pueblo and is the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency, joined tribal leaders at Chaco on Monday to celebrate the beginning of a process that aims to withdraw federal land holdings within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the park boundary, making the area off-limits to oil and gas leasing for 20 years.

New leases on federal land in the area will be halted for the next two years while the withdrawal proposal is considered.

Haaland also committed to taking a broader look at how federal land across the region can be better managed while taking into account environmental effects and cultural preservation.

The perfect weather did not go unnoticed Monday, as tribal leaders talked about their collective prayers being answered.

“It’s a nice day — a beautiful day that our father the sun blessed us with. The creator laid out the groundwork for today,” said Hopi Vice Chairman Clark Tenakhongva.

A World Heritage site, Chaco is thought to be the center of what was once a hub of Indigenous civilization with many tribes from the Southwest tracing their roots to the high desert outpost.

Within the park, walls of stacked stone jut up from the bottom of the canyon, some perfectly aligned with the seasonal movements of the sun and moon. Circular subterranean rooms called kivas are cut into the desert floor, and archaeologists have found evidence of great roads that stretched across what are now New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Visitors often marvel at the architectural prowess of Chaco’s early residents. But for many Indigenous people in the Southwest, Chaco Canyon holds a more esoteric significance.

The Hopi call it “Yupkoyvi,” simply translated as way beyond the other side of the mountains.

“Whose land do we all occupy? We walk the land of the creator. That’s what was told to us at the beginning — at the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” Tenakhongva said. “Many of us have that connection. Many of us can relate to how important the Grand Canyon is. Ask the Zuni, the Laguna, the Acoma. They made their trip from there to this region. We know the importance of these areas.”

Pueblo leaders also talked about areas near Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico and Bears Ears National Monument in Utah that are tied to Chaco civilization.

Laguna Gov. Martin Kowemy Jr. said Chaco is a vital part of who his people are.

“Pueblo people can all relate through song, prayer and pilgrimage,” he said. “Now more than ever, connections to our peoples’ identities are a source of strength in difficult times. We must ensure these connections will not be severed, but remain intact for future generations.”

Acoma Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo said the beliefs, songs, ceremonies and other traditions that have defined generations of Pueblo people originated at Chaco.

“Our fight to protect this sacred place is rooted in what our elders teach us and what we know as descendants of those who settled here,” Vallo said. “That is our responsibility — to maintain our connection, our deep-felt obligation and protective stewardship of this sacred place.”

Both the Obama and Trump administrations also put on hold leases adjacent to the park through agency actions, but some tribes, archaeologists and environmentalists have been pushing for permanent protections.

Congressional legislation is pending, but there has been disagreement over just how big the buffer should be.

The Navajo Nation oversees much of the land that makes up the jurisdictional checkerboard surrounding the national park. Some belong to individual Navajos who were allotted land by the federal government generations ago.

Navajo leaders support preserving parts of the area but have said individual allottees stand to lose an important income source if the land is made off-limits to development. Millions of dollars in royalties are at stake for tribal members who are grappling with poverty and high unemployment rates.

Haaland’s agency has vowed to consult with tribes over the next two years as the withdrawal proposal is considered, but top Navajo leaders already are suggesting they’re being ignored. Noticeably absent from Monday's celebration were the highest elected leaders of the tribe’s legislative and executive branches.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Daniel Tso has been among a minority within tribal government speaking out against development in the region. He said communities east of Chaco are “under siege” from increased drilling.

He told the story of one resident who wipes dust from his kitchen table only to have it dirty again the next day due to the oilfield traffic. He said the consequences are having negative effects on residents' spirits and thus their ability to remain resilient.

“Yes, we want the landscape protected, we want better air quality, we want to protect the water aquifer, we want to protect the sacred,” he said. “The undisturbed landscape holds much sacredness. It brings peace of mind, it brings a settled heart and it gives good spiritual strength.”

No matter what side they're on, many Navajos feel their voices aren't being heard.

Haaland on Monday invited everyone to participate in the listening sessions that will be held as part of the process, which she has dubbed “Honoring Chaco."

Environmentalists say the region is a prime example of the problems of tribal consultation and that Haaland's effort could mark a shift toward more tribal involvement in future decision-making when it comes to identifying and protecting cultural resources.

“By creating a new collaborative process with ‘Honoring Chaco’ we have the ability to ameliorate broken promises and to right the wrongs of consultation just being a check-the-box exercise,” said Rebecca Sobel with the group WildEarth Guardians. “Hopefully it will be the beginning of a new relationship.”

Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press

BC
First Nation community cut off by landslides still hasn't heard from government

Almost two weeks after mudslides and flooding washed away whole sections of communities along the Nicola River in British Columbia’s Interior, Shackan Indian Band has still not heard from the provincial government and is going it alone in caring for its community members.


One of five First Nation communities situated along Nicola Valley’s Highway 8 between Merritt and Spences Bridge, Shackan Indian Band Chief Arnold Lampreau went door-to-door in pouring rain last Monday, asking his community members to evacuate immediately as rising waters were imminent.

The night before, Lampreau was called by one of his band councillors, Lindsay Tighe, telling him the neighbouring community of Coldwater Indian Band was on evacuation alert. Not taking it too seriously to begin with, it wouldn’t be until the morning he realized he needed to act.

“I looked out into my field and there was already water in my field, and the water was rising quite fast and furious,” Lampreau said. “So right off the bat, I told my wife Lenora that we need to get out and we have no time to wait.”

Evacuating firstly to Merritt, band members were redirected again after that city itself was placed on evacuation notice. Nine days later, members now find themselves temporarily housed in shelters across the Interior, including Salmon Arm, Kamloops, and even a Trans Mountain pipeline camp outside of Merritt, operated by multi-national Civeo. Lampreau said five band members remain on reserve.

Since then, Lampreau said the band council has not been contacted directly by any provincial agency or ministry. Lampreau said they have given up trying to contact Emergency Support Services or Emergency Management BC and have since gone directly to the federal Indigenous Services department.

“[Emergency Management BC] never looked after our people. We fell through the cracks. We never even got called days after,” Lampreau said.

Lampreau and the band council have been spending the subsequent days taking care of their community by themselves: organizing shelter, food, medicine and emergency finances.

The executive director for the overarching Scw'exmx Tribal Council has also been evacuated, Lampreau explained, complicating communication with government agencies further.

“I was saying how important the tribal council would be now, to come together and pull our chiefs together and [do] some of the legwork for us. And we've been having to do that on our own,” he said.

The hard reality of the devastation to the land and community is slowly sinking in for the band. Lampreau said eventually they will have to confront reality that Shackan may have to move and re-establish somewhere else.

Decimated firstly by wildfires this past summer, the medicines, food, and forests on either side of the river that Shackan had relied upon since time immemorial now no longer exist.

“We need other lands to sustain our livelihood … the possibility of re-establishing Shackan down there, [the thing that] really binds us to that, that is our ancestors,” he said.

“Our loved ones are buried there. And some special places that are dear to our hearts. And we know those names of those places, and some of the ancient places where they dwell, they're there. And those historical spots are there, and we know about them, and we just can't walk away from them.

“But in one breath, we have to be able to find a place to raise our new generation of people, the next seven generations. We have to start thinking about them and ensuring that they have a place to go and a safe place to be,” he said.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin acknowledged the impact flooding and landslides have had on First Nations communities, including being displaced from their homes, difficulties practicing ceremony and culture, and being separated from family and loved ones.

Rankin also acknowledged how this has compounded the trauma of the last year.

“Chiefs and members of Indigenous communities have shown enormous resilience and great leadership during this difficult period,” he said.

Rankin announced government agencies from different sectors have now been congregated to form integrated Indigenous response and recovery teams, which include members from First Nations Emergency Services Society, First Nations Health Authority, Emergency Management BC, and Indigenous Services Canada.

“Yesterday, I was on was on a call with First Nation leaders and Minister [Mike] Farnworth. We heard from impacted communities; we heard their concerns as to how we can improve our response. And I heard we have more work to do.

“We must improve our communications with First Nation communities in advance of and during emergencies. We need to streamline our processes to help people access supports more easily, and we can work to ensure that the supports provided to First Nation communities are meeting the needs identified by the communities themselves,” Rankin said.

Glacier Media requested specific details from the province regarding its effort to support communities along Highway 8 but did not hear back by time of publication.

However, in response to the announcement, Shackan Indian Band Coun. Yvonne Joe said the integrated response is something that should’ve been done years ago.

“That should have really been in place. Because we’re not invited to the table... there's [no] kind of negotiations that transpire, and it happens within our territories. We're never asked to sit at the table, and we're never asked, ‘What would you like?’, or ‘What are your thoughts?’” she said.

Joe said she’s now expecting a call from the province.

“They're probably now going to reach out, because we're making noise. All the bands in our valley, they're rattling the cages,” she said.

Charlie Carey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News

Systemic racism within British Columbia police targets minorities

Indigenous and Black people are highly overrepresented in arrests or chargeable incidents in British Columbia’s two largest cities which also have a high population of vulnerable new immigrants — Vancouver and Surrey — according to a new report revealing systemic racism in the province.

The report, funded by B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender, includes expert analysis of data from the Vancouver Police Department, the Nelson Police Department and the Surrey, Duncan and Prince George RCMP detachments, which were selected to represent different communities with varied demographic populations in the province.

In 2011, 44 per cent of Vancouver’s population was born outside of Canada, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), while Surrey is home to the second-largest immigrant population (220,155) in the Metro Vancouver Region, representing 22 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s total immigrant population.

“The key findings reflect policing issues affecting Indigenous and racialized communities, including new arrivals,” a spokesperson for the Commissioner told New Canadian Media.

Key findings in the 90-page submission by Commissioner Govender to the B.C. government’s Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act (SCORPA) include:

“Systemic racism in policing undermines community trust and safety,” Govender said in a statement.

Govender also said it’s “critical to acknowledge that the data is about individuals, particularly Indigenous, Black and other racialized individuals who experience significant and long-term harm, trauma and mental health impacts as a result of police interactions and involvement in the criminal justice system.”

Scot Wortley is professor of criminology in the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto and helped analyze the policing data. According to him, it’s “clear” that “profound racial disparities in police arrest and mental health statistics exist” in B.C.

“These disparities demand monitoring, policy attention and action by police, government and oversight bodies to redress the disparities that this data points to,” he said.

The report called for “immediate and sustained action to address the structural discrimination behind these numbers and to redress the harms caused by it.”

Limited data

Govender also expressed concerns about the limitations of the police data available for research and study purposes in B.C.

For example, B.C. RCMP is the largest policing agency in the province and serves 70 per cent of the population. Yet, they do not currently retain historical records of data after a file is closed beyond the minimum national standard, which in some cases is just 24 months.

“The B.C. RCMP’s failure to retain historical policing data for research and study purposes is deeply troubling as it contradicts principles of transparency and accountability in policing,” Govender’s statement read.

Citing examples based on the data from the five police jurisdictions, the report noted that although Indigenous people represent only 2.2 per cent of Vancouver’s population, they were involved in 24.5 per cent of all arrests captured. Black people only represent one per cent of Vancouver’s population but were involved in 5.3 per cent of all arrests. Latinos and Arab/West Asian civilians were also significantly overrepresented in arrests in the Vancouver data.

Indigenous and Black people were significantly overrepresented in police arrests in Surrey as well. While Indigenous people only represent 2.6 per cent of the population there, they were involved in 6.9 per cent of all arrests. Black people, who only represent 1.8 per cent of that population, were involved in five per cent of all arrests.

For Alicia Williams, from the BC Community Alliance, Govender’s findings are “devastating.”

“Especially for the communities grappling with this discriminatory treatment and for people who have experienced or witnessed negative interactions with police,” she said. “But the Commissioner’s recommendations give us a roadmap for change.”

The RCMP said they are analyzing Govender’s findings.

Fabian Dawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

B.C. human rights commissioner report outlines racial disparities in policing

© Provided by The Canadian Press

VICTORIA — The office of British Columbia's human rights commissioner says an analysis of data from five police services across the province shows "profound racial disparities" and it is calling for changes toaddress discrimination in policing.

The report from Kasari Govender's office includes a series of recommendations for the B.C. government as part of a submission to a special committee of the legislature tasked with examining potential changes to the province's Police Act.

An analysis of data from the five B.C. police services found Indigenous, Black and other racialized people were over-represented in arrests and detentions, as well as in mental health or well-being checks and strip searches, the report says.

In one example, it says data provided by the Vancouver Police Department from 2011 to 2020 showed Indigenous people were over 11 times more likely to be arrested than their representation in the general population would predict. The analysis found that while Indigenous men represented 1.1 per cent of the city's population, they were involved in 19 per cent of the department's arrests.

In Nelson, data from 2016 to 2020 showed Black people were 4.7 times more likely to be involved in mental health incidents than their representation in the population.

The Vancouver and Nelson police services and the RCMP in Surrey, Prince George and Duncan/North Cowichan were chosen because they represent communities of different sizes with varying demographics in distinct parts of B.C., the report says.

The data analysis was completed in September by Scott Wortley, a professor at the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto.

Wortley highlighted the over-representation of Indigenous women in arrests and mental health checks by police at a news conference on Wednesday.

Studies across North America show that women, regardless of race, are typically under-represented in police statistics and charge recommendations, he said.

However, he said the analysis of B.C. police data found that Indigenous women were not only arrested at higher rates than women from other racial groups, but they often had arrest rates higher than those of white, Asian and South Asian men.

Serious violent offences accounted for less than five per cent of the charges recorded by all five B.C. police departments, he said. By contrast, between 30 and 40 per cent of the charges related to public disorder or the administration of justice, such as failing to appear in court or to comply with the conditions of a release.

The over-representation of Indigenous and Black people was higher for such charges, which are more likely to involve police discretion, Wortley said. It also was highest among cases that were either dropped by Crown prosecutors or closed if police decided not to pursue charges, he said.

Some would argue that provides "evidence of arrests of low quality or arrests that were based on limited evidence and have very little chance of prosecution," he said.

While the data analysis did not seek to identify the root causes of the racial disparities that it revealed, Wortley said three main explanations have emerged: bias in policing practices, such as surveillance and street checks; police discretion in how minor offences are handled; and bias when civilians report crimes to police.

Wortley also noted the possibility of higher rates of offending among racialized groups that "may be related to issues of colonization, historical discrimination, multi-generational trauma and contemporary social-economic disadvantage."

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, had not yet reviewed the commissioner's report and analysis on Wednesday, but said in general, factors underlying data on police interactions "aren't just policing issues."

"The reason why police do end up needing to respond to issues related to mental health or addictions or homelessness is because there have been cuts to other services or other services aren't available to fill that space," he said in an interview.

"If people are telling us there are issues with the way we're policing in a particular community or the way we're policing a part of a community, then of course the police need to be responsive to that."

The human rights commissioner's report says an array of data shows that the impacts of colonization, immigration policies, systemic racism in the health-care and education systems, and other "embedded social inequities lead to greater involvement of some communities in the criminal justice system."

Systemic racism in policing is unjust, contrary to the law and undermines community safety, Govender told the news conference.

"When marginalized people cannot trust the police, they are less likely to report crimes against them. To build this trust, we need to reimagine the role of police in our province, including by shifting our focus from the police as default responders."

Govender's report urges B.C. to adopt recommendations that include working with other levels of government to redirect funding from police budgets and investing in civilian-led services for mental health and substance use, homelessness and other conditions that could be addressed through expanded social programs.

The report also calls for changes to police oversight in B.C. and says the Police Act should be amended to ensure police boards are representative of the communities they serve, specifically those who are disproportionately affected by policing.

The B.C. RCMP said in a statement it could not speak to the specifics of the report's findings as the Mounties were not invited as active participants in the research and did not receive a final copy of the report until its public release.

In general, spokeswoman Dawn Roberts said the RCMP "has acknowledged the existing broad body of research demonstrating that certain groups are over-represented" in the justice system, including Black and Indigenous people.

The RCMP has been developing a national approach to the collection, analysis and reporting of race-based data in policing since July 2020 in collaboration with Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Statistics Canada, she said.

The B.C. RCMP's submission to the legislative committee on the Police Act addresses many of the same issues as the commissioner's report, Roberts added.

In Vancouver, Sgt. Steve Addison said police recognize that "historical inequalities have led to over-representation of racialized people in the criminal justice system."

The department changed its policies on street checks last year in response to concerns that people of colour were over-represented in the stops, and the new policy has "significantly reduced the number of checks that occur," he said.

Officers receive anti-bias training throughout their careers, Addison said in a statement.

Police in Nelson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2021.

The Canadian Press