Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Correctional facilities

Recommendation 179: Implement existing recommendations in the Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, A Call to Action: Reconciliation with Indigenous Women in the Federal Justice and Correctional Systems.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Recommendation 180: All levels of government must acknowledge that the current state of Indigenous women’s health is a direct result of colonialism and government policies.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Recommendation 181: Strengthen all the social determinants of Indigenous women’s health by ensuring access to and governance over land, culture, language, housing, child care, income security, employment, education, and safety.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 185: End the coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, and hold health professionals criminally responsible for acts of coerced sterilization.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 186: End the medical pathologizing and diagnosing of gender identity. Train healthcare professionals to provide gender-affirming care that is safe for and respectful of trans women and two-spirit people.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 189: All medical and nursing schools in Canada must require courses dealing with Indigenous health issues, including the legacy of colonialism and its impacts, as well as skills-based training in anti-racism, human rights, and trauma-informed care.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 190: More doctors and nurses, and especially more Indigenous healthcare professionals.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 191: Recognize Indigenous healing practices and have more health professionals trained in Indigenous health practices. Recognize the role of Indigenous reproductive and birthing knowledge, including ceremonies related to healthy sexual development.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 198: Universal public healthcare coverage to include supplements, prescriptions, counselling, dental, optical, mobility devices, adaptive equipment, and alternative treatments like acupuncture.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 204: Declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency that disproportionately impacts Indigenous women, and expand funding for immediate health-based solutions for the opioid crisis that focus on the specific needs of Indigenous women. This includes:

1. Full spectrum of recovery supports including immediate access to Indigenous women’s detox-on-demand and treatment centres.
2. Indigenous-run treatment centres that use culture as treatment with Indigenous healing methods and land-based practices.
3. More indoor overdose prevention sites and consumption sites, including culturally safe sites for Indigenous women only.
4. Decriminalization and access to safer drug supply.
5. Opioid-assisted therapy programs and full spectrum of substitution treatment options.
6. Longer-term funding for range of culturally safe treatment programs.
7. Provincial regulation and oversight over all recovery programs and facilities.