There's a highway in Canada that's dubbed the 'Highway of Tears.' Before the highway reaches the Pacific Ocean, it passes through dense forests, logging towns and poor reserves. Mostly indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found dead on Highway 16 for decades, and it's time for it to stop.
Between 1969 to 2006, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's special unit has opened 18 official cases of missing women related to Highway 16, but local activists argue that the figure is closer to 50, reports Dan Levin for The New York Times.
Most of these cases have never been solved - - in large part because law enforcement has failed indigenous women. According to The New York Times, a 2015 U.N. report "described measures by the previous government to protect aboriginal women from harm as 'inadequate' and said that the lack of an inquiry into the murders and disappearances constituted 'grave violations' of the women’s human rights."
Indigenous women in Canada only make up 4 percent of the population, but they constitute 16 percent of all female homicides.
Indigenous women and girls are at least 3 times more likely to experience violence.
Indigenous women and girls are at least 6 times more likely to be murdered than any other woman or girl in Canada.
Sign and share this petition demanding justice for the missing and murdered First Nations women along Highway 16. It's time for the tears to stop by making the highway safe and by making an attempt to solve cold cases.
Photo Credit: Thebakertwins
