Mani nindjinicoz. Kitigan Zibi nin donjiba.
Good evening.
My name is Carole Brazeau. I'm representing the National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence. The acronym is NACAFV. Our primary mission is to end violence in our aboriginal communities.
The NACAFV also provides training to the dedicated front-line professionals in on-reserve AANDC-funded shelters primarily, and transition houses across Canada. In response to violence against first nations women, NACAFV president Sheila Swasson stated the following nearly a decade ago, and it is still true to this day:
NACAFV is well aware of the enormity of the issue; our front-line workers, the women in the trenches, are usually the first ones in contact with the women and children who have been exposed to some of the most extreme cases of violence.
As well, the NACAFV pointed out that the inequities of funding to first nations shelters is a contributing factor causing the disparities in the quality of and access to services in our country amongst first nations women and children who require these services. Today, the NACAFV is calling on the federal government of Canada to support a prevailing request for a national strategy to address the issues of violence against Indigenous women. This must be in tandem with addressing the inequities in funding programs and services for first nations women and children who need to access shelters for their own safety.
The NACAFV is willing to collaborate with all levels of government and other organizations for finding effective strategies and solutions to end violence against first nations women and children. Women's shelters can take a leading role in coordinating, designing, and planning educational and training offerings.
This year, in February of 2013, at our annual training forum, I asked the front-line workers to provide ideas on how to prevent family violence and domestic homicides, and their answers were mainly about education and prevention.
This is where Dr. Olsen Harper's expertise comes in.