FNLC Calls for Action on Red Dress Day, National MMIWG2S+ Awareness Day

May 5, 2024

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) remembers and honours missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples (MMIWG2S+) today on Red Dress Day.

FNLC calls on Canada to take action by implementing the 231 Calls for Justice released with the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls four years ago. Essential components of the National Action Plan call for oversight bodies, such as an Indigenous Ombudsperson, Human Rights Tribunal, and civilian police oversight bodies to represent the interests of Indigenous families, survivors and communities.

Currently, Indigenous women make up 16 percent of all femicide victims and 11 percent of all missing women. Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples are also 6 times more likely to be murdered than their non-Indigenous counterparts.