Violence against aboriginal women is one of the most pressing issues in communities today and can be attributed to such factors as substance abuse, social inequalities, systemic discrimination, and the breakdown of families. These issues can all be traced back to the residential school system, the effects of which continue to reverberate in society today.
In 2009-10, 56% of the women who used the in-house services of the shelter reported being victims of violence in one or more forms. This statistic is reflective of the common experience of aboriginal women across the country. Statistics Canada has documented that aboriginal women are three times as likely as their non-aboriginal counterparts to report spousal assault, and the abuse that is suffered is significantly more--