Reading about the suffering of aboriginal women makes one wonder whether there is any ounce of compassion left in humanity. The violence inflicted upon the women and the response of the authority to the same was in total discordance. One of the victim reported that she would sleep against the wall as it was a safe place to prevent her father from abusing her. Another woman had to cut her hair short in order to protect herself from a man who always pulled her during a physical assault. The saddening part is that the local authorities and services agencies that were seen as a source of hope to the assaulted women insisted that married people were destined to stay together. Therefore, there always took back the victim to her home only to find the abuser there waiting for her. This created an enabling environment for the continuance of abuse (McGillivray & Comaskey, 2010) . These incidences show a situation where humanity was shelved by the male gender. The loss of compassion and love led a myriad of health consequences. These were deemed as coping mechanisms. Self-harm is one mechanism. Some members resulted in suicide while others resulted to taking alcohol and other drugs to numb the pain. Some had eating disorders while others resulted to denial as coping mechanisms. After reading the texts I have realized that sustained violence can make a victim believe that they deserve the treatment. The situation is made worse when those meant to offer help are oblivious and not even willing to understand the victim’s perspective on the violence (McGillivray & Comaskey, 2010) .
“ Black Eyes All of the Time: Intimate Violence, Aboriginal Women, and the Justice System” shows the role of colonialism in propagating cultural change and subsequent segregation. I have realized that in order to dominate a certain population, one can disintegrate the cultural foundations of the population. Aboriginal women were deemed equal to men in the traditional societies. They were treated with respect and would hold both economic and political power. However, interactions with the colonialists led to the assault of this cultural practices and subsequent degradation of the aboriginal women. Women also lost their economic power. Religion is also seen as a tool through which the men in this community propagate violence against women (McGillivray & Comaskey, 2010) . I find it paradoxical to see Christianity being used as a vehicle to propagate violence in the society. Christianity advocates for virtues such as compassion and love. However, in the cases of aboriginal society, the Christianity doctrines are interpreted in isolation. For example, women are encouraged to stay in abusive marriages because of the marriage vows they made. They are also encouraged to forgive their abusers. This is a convenient way of interpreting the religion and using it to further selfish and inhuman acts. I find this very disturbing (Nahanee, 1992) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
There are a lot of pertinent issues that arise from the readings. One main issue is the role of culture in the propagation of aboriginal women abuse. Culture is used by the abusers to propagate violence. An example is in the rural and isolated communities. In these places, assaulted women who require help from the police are shamed and banished from the community. This instills fear in such women leading to a delay in police response. The abusers in these cases escalates the violence or pressure the victim to forgive them or forget. This leads to a vicious cycle of violence. These situations have led to my realization that culture and the criminal justice system are largely intertwined. In order to help such women to get justice, there is a need to address the cultural issues surrounding the crime. Cultural considerations should be made in the process of formulating polices to address violence (Nahanee, 1992) .
I find it saddening that the criminal justice system is the one aiding and propagating injustices against women. Through both acts of omission and commission, the system is seen to encourage violence against Aboriginal women. It also propagates economic injustice against them. The decision of the supreme court of Canada in the case of Paul and Derrickson clearly demonstrates these injustices by the justice system. According to the court, First Nation women lack property rights on all Indian lands. The reason given in this case is that there are no federal laws present and provisional laws are not applicable. This is a lacuna in law that is used to deprive aboriginal women of their rights to acquire wealth. This, I feel is an intentional omission of law. The government has also participated in furthering the violence against women in the aboriginal society. Racism is rampant especially in federal government programs. The available Indian Government Acts also propagate violence and discrimination against the aboriginal women. The lack of clear federal initiatives and laws fuel the violence. Upon conviction, there is usually no legal support for sentencing. This enables the perpetrators of violence to walk scot free (Nahanee, 1992) .
I find the solutions to the violence problem of the aboriginal women rather complicated. There is a need for a total change of mindset from all stakeholders. Chiefs in the aboriginal society should be on the front line to educate men on the need for tolerance and change of behavior. Women and children should be taken through a healing session. This session is meant to inform them of their worth as human beings. The women should know that their lives matter. Moreover, they should be able to see them as human beings first. This way, they can take a united front in the fight against the violence (McGillivray & Comaskey, 2010) . More importantly, the criminal justice system should take full charge of the situation. The police should be on the frontline in apprehending the abusers and taking them to court. Outside court settlement should be reduced. The courts should also come up with punitive sentences that deter other offenders from committing the crimes. Violence should be viewed as a crime and not a cultural practice.
References
McGillivray, A., & Comaskey, B. (2010). Black Eyes All of the Time: Intimate Violence, Aboriginal Women, and the Justice System. Toronto: University of Toronto Press .
Nahanee, T. (1992). "Dancing with a Gorilla" Aboriginal Women, Justice and the Charter. Native Women's Association of Canada .
