Blog by Elena Kerr, SI Edinburgh (SIGBI)
SI CSW70 Delegate
This event brought together expert speakers including nurses and health professionals, academics, clinicians, and advocates. The speakers discussed missing and murdered Indigenous women, non-state torture, forced child marriage, and domestic violence.
My main takeaway from this event was the presentation by Dr Gloria Littlemouse. Dr Littlemouse is from the Lenape people and presented the case of missing and murdered Indigenous women. With five thousand seven hundred and twelve missing people reported, only one hundred and sixteen were logged. In 2022, murder was the third largest cause of death among young Indigenous women. For every missing Indigenous woman, they hang up a red dress which symbolises the spirit of this woman. When the wind blows through the dress, it illustrates that the spirit of this person is still there. They also wear a painted red hand over the mouth, representing the silence of the media and law enforcement, on the missing and murdered Indigenous women.
One of the largest issues raised by Dr Littlemouse was human trafficking, a one-hundred-and-fifty-billion-dollar industry. People are sold multiple times a day, hourly. This is a serious issue and must be addressed and tackled, in addition to the unresolved and unlogged cases of missing Indigenous women. Additionally, Dr Littlemouse raised the issue of domestic violence, of which one and a half million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced in their lifetime.
However, Dr Littlemouse also underlined the importance within the Lenape people to be who you are, to accept and love everyone, and to protect the land. In this context, she mentioned the Indigenous Two-Spirit identities, which is referred to as the Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (2SLGBTQIA+). This demonstrates the diversity and inclusion promoted and celebrated in the culture.
Overall, this event included inspiring stories of empowerment through culture, raised important awareness of a crisis that needs justice, as well as emphasised the importance of love and acceptance.
This blog underscores the urgent need to address violence and health inequities experienced by women and girls, resonating with Soroptimist International’s commitment to the pillars of violence against women, health, and empowerment.
