Deep Green Resistance
"Real change for aboriginal women begins with the end of prostitution"
Cherry Smiley is an indigenous feminist and project manager for violence prevention and safety at the Native Women’s Association of Canada and member of the Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution.
"[P]rostitution is not a traditional activity for aboriginal women and, in fact, is ‘the world’s oldest oppression.’ It is a system, like Canada’s residential school system, that has been imposed on our aboriginal communities. Prostitution is part of the continuum of colonial male violence against aboriginal women and girls, telling us incorrectly that we are disposable in life and that predators can harm us without recourse.
"The end point of that continuum is the thousands of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, an ongoing massacre that continues to tell us that we are disposable, even in death, with no official inquiry or accountability."
"Aboriginal women and girls deserve more than to be violated daily by johns and sold by pimps. What we need are real choices. As prostitution abolitionists, we support the new law but we want more – we want true social change that redefines masculinity as being about partnership, and gives women and girls the unconstrained liberty to be ourselves and live free from exploitation and poverty. We want comprehensive prostitution prevention and exiting strategies, and a robust public education campaign that re-educates Canadians about prostitution as a form of male violence against women and a racist and colonial system that targets racialized and aboriginal women and girls. Supporting the abolition of prostitution and the new legislation stands in agreement with our traditional aboriginal teachings – it tells us that we are worthy of freedom, respect, and love."
Read the whole article:
Real change for aboriginal women begins with the end of prostitution
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/real-change-for-aboriginal-women-begins-with-the-end-of-prostitution/article22442349DGR stands with women fighting to end sexual exploitation. Find out more about our feminist solidarity work:
http://deepgreenresistance.orgCherry Smiley (Nlaka’pamux Fort Thompson) and Diné /Navajo) is an indigenous feminist and project manager for violence prevention and safety at the Native Women’s Association of Canada and member of the Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution.
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