Having myself been the victim of intimidation and death threats on Facebook in September, I would say that even when you're an activist with a good network of people, it can be unsettling, but you have to pull yourself together. It's easy to remember that many of us may not have a network like mine or people to explain to us what our rights and protections are, and how we can overcome these challenges.
Some young women and women of all ages tell us that they experience intimidation and violence because they take a stand or because they have a lifestyle of their own that upsets a movement or a leader.
I would say it's a pan-Canadian phenomenon that doesn't just affect indigenous women. Yet when indigenous women report these assaults, the response is sometimes slower, as Mr. Niemi explained. The commissions are not prepared for this, nor are our police officers, and our indigenous and Quebec institutions don't know how to deal with it either. We end up wondering what to do.
However, it's an unacceptable form of violence. Some of the people who are subjected to it will even attempt suicide, and some of them succeed unfortunately.