Towards the development of a culturally sensitive, empowerment-based sexual assault resistance model for Anishinaabe women

Abstract

In Canada, sexual violence against Indigenous women is an unsettling, national human rights crisis. Conservative estimates are that 57% of Indigenous women have been sexually assaulted (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2011). Compared with non-Indigenous women they experience three times more intimate partner violence, suffer from more extreme violence and are targeted by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous men (Boyce, 2016). The House of Commons, Special Committee on Violence Against Women in 2014 emphasized the need for the development of education and prevention programs to address violence against Indigenous women (Ambler, 2014). Sexual violence against Indigenous women intersects with historic genocide, intergeneration trauma, entrenched racism, sexism, and poverty. Although some sexual assault resistance programs have been found to lessen sexual assaults by 50% (Orchowski & Gidycz, 2018), none have been developed that address the unique history, culture, and needs of Indigenous women. This thesis explores the development of a culturally sensitive, empowerment-based sexual assault resistance model and preliminary program for Anishinaabe women. The development was informed by peer-reviewed literature and in collaboration with two Anishinaabe elders. The emergent model and preliminary program were reviewed by a focus group of three professional Anishinabek helpers. This study is a step towards lessening sexual violence against Indigenous women in Canada, supports social work competence and practice for working with Indigenous women, and furthers sexual violence prevention efforts in Ontario’s north.