Gender based violence against Indigenous women has a long and brutal history that is rooted in colonialism. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls began in 2016, shedding light on the context of the overrepresentation of Indigenous women who have faced gender based violence.
There are a variety of factors contributing to higher rates of gender-based violence among Indigenous women, including intergenerational trauma, poverty, hazardous housing, unemployment, and lack of education, employment, health care and cultural support.