OTTAWA — Updated findings on murdered and missing aboriginal women released by the Mounties on Friday include data which indicate there is a strong connection between homicides and family violence.
The Mounties said female victims, regardless of ethnicity, are most frequently killed by men within their own homes and communities.
“There is an unmistakable connection between homicide and family violence,” RCMP deputy commissioner Janice Armstrong said. “Aboriginal women continue to be most frequently killed by men they know.”
The RCMP data show that homicides of aboriginal women are solved in 81 per cent of cases, similar to the 83 per cent solution rate for killings of non-aboriginal women.
The force said its review reaffirms that prevention efforts need to address family violence.
“The frequency of violence against aboriginal women is alarming,” said RCMP Supt. Tyler Bates. “It matters not where they are being killed within their homes, within their communities, we have an obligation to solve these outstanding occurrences.’
The update follows a report last year on missing and murdered aboriginal women which said there were 1,181 cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women between 1980 and 2012.
The RCMP says 11 additional aboriginal women have gone missing since the 2014 report.