Our podcast's central focus is on Indigenous women's rights and the pervasive issue of gender-based violence. We specifically concentrate on combating violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada and how these endeavors intersect with international law and policies. Despite the existence of international human rights laws and conventions, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Vienna Declaration, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, there are significant challenges and gaps in ensuring the protection of Indigenous women's rights and the eradication of gender-based violence. The devastating consequences stemming from these challenges demand immediate attention and action. Concerted efforts must be made to address these issues comprehensively and effectively.

Gender-based violence against Indigenous women and girls is universal, and addressing it needs to be a priority. Vulnerable people and communities need to be protected, and government/officials need to be held accountable. As mentioned earlier, Canada has signed various conventions and treaties. The ongoing violence directed at Indigenous women; indicates they have not followed through on upholding these. As a first world country, this demonstrates to others that this is not a priority and lays a foundation for other countries that they can continue to neglect human rights. By raising awareness, we hope to encourage others to push for action, demand change, and support initiatives that promote gender equality and protect marginalized communities.

References
Buffie, N. (2023, September 17). ‘Search the landfill’ protests planned across Canada for Monday. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9967221/search-the-landfill-protests-planned-canada/

CBC News. (2018, September 26). Missing and Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls. https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/

McDiarmid, J. (2019). Highway of Tears: A true story of racism, indifference and the pursuit of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Doubleday Canada. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/548115/highway-of-tears-by-jessica-mcdiarmid/9
780385687584

Meeches, L., Irving, K., Gibson, R. (Executive Producers). (2016-2019). Taken [TV Docu-series]. Eagle Vision; CBC Gem. https://gem.cbc.ca/taken

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2007). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). UN General Assembly, A/RES/71/32. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/UNDRIPManualForNHRIs.pdf

Smiley, M. (Director). (2015). Highway of Tears. [Film] Finesse Films & Paracas Independent
Films. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2175928/?ref_=adv_li_tt

Snyder, E., Napoleon, V., & Borrows, J. (2015). Gender and Violence: Drawing on Indigenous Legal Resources. U.B.C Law Review, 48(2) 593-654.

The World Conference on Human Rights Vienna. (1993). Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. UN General Assembly, A/CONF.157/23.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/vienna-declaration-and-programme-action

Tsosie, R. (2010). "Indigenous Women and International Human Rights Law: The Challenges of Colonialism, Cultural Survival, and Self-Determination.” UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, 15(1), 187-238.

United Nations General Assembly. (1979). Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, 1-10. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women

This podcast explores how Indigenous women have and still are having their rights violated and how these violations are not being addressed by the colonial government. The fact that the rights of Indigenous women come second to human rights, and how they are treated like “add ons.” We hope to provide information and discuss resources to inform people about not only the issue but how to get involved in meaningful ways that support Indigenous women and their rights. We discuss the importance of using a gendered lens in order to see the whole scope of the issues surrounding violence against Indigneous women in Canada.

Some topics our group debates involve man camps for pipeline projects currently taking place in Indigenous communities. Man camps create a violent space for Indigenous women because of the increased number of attacks in the locations where the camps are set up. The colonial Canadian government has plans to expand pipeline projects which inevitably leads to an increase in man camps in and around Indigenous peoples land and thus leads to an increase in violent attacks on Indigenous women in those areas. Framing the relevance to the fact that capitalism is more important than Indigenous Women in the colonial mind. We also talk about The Red Dress Movement as a statement of bringing awareness to the violence on Indigenous women's bodies and we will therefore expand on ideas surrounding that movement. We will also discuss the ever-growing number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls along a stretch of highway in British Columbia known as the highway of tears in relation to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Report (MMIGW+2S). Our group will also explore the topic as it relates to the ongoing work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action, and the fact that only a few of the recommendations have been put into place and practice.

References
Johnstone, R. (2006). Feminist Influences on the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies. Human Rights Quarterly, 28(1), 148–185. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2006.0005
Kuokkanen, R. (2012). Self-Determination and Indigenous Women's Rights at the Intersection of International Human Rights. Human Rights Quarterly: A Comparative and International Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Law. 34(1), 225-250. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/hurq34&id=1&collection=journals&index=#
National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (2019, May 29). Final report. MMIWG. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.mmiwgffada.ca/final-report/ Reilly, N. (2019). Women, Gender, and International Human Rights: Overview. In International
Human Rights of Women (pp. 1–18). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8905-3_23
Zwingel, S. (2013). International Feminist Strategies: Strengths and Challenges of the Rights-Based Approach. Politics & Gender, 9(3), 344–351.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X13000226

We have chosen the topic of gender violence as a human rights issue because it is widespread and global. We are interested in discussing gender violence from a theoretical feminist lens to capture the complexity and intersectionality involved in gender violence as a human rights issue in a way that other theoretical perspectives cannot. As MacKinnon states, “what happens to women is either too particular to be universal or too universal to be particular, meaning either too human to be female or too female to be human” (Mackinnon, p.142), which showcases the importance of centering gender violence as a human rights issue. We believe it is important to bring attention to the frequent and detrimental impacts of gender violence to bring awareness to an issue that impacts half the global population.

Historically, international human rights documents and policies have failed to acknowledge the rights and needs of women and non-binary identities. While significant progress has been made and international committees such as CEDAW are contributing to the diversification of international human rights, a disparity remains between international human rights and the people they claim to represent. Among many other experiences specific to women and non-binary identities, gender violence and the inequalities that perpetuate this type of violence lack representation within international instruments. From a gender perspective, we can understand the pressing issue of gendered violence occurring both nationally and internationally and identify the connection between gender inequality and gender violence and how they create, uphold, and perpetuate each other. In our podcast discussions, we argue that the reality and effects of gender violence must be centered on the formation of women’s international human rights and must remain relevant within international instruments to create a foundation for reports of violence to be made effectively. Our discussion of international human rights from a gender perspective aims to emphasize the connection between gender violence and human rights and how they should not be separated, as well as the need for policy and protection against gender violence in both the public and private sectors of life. To deepen and make our conversation more concrete, we discuss the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) in Canada as our. Indigenous women and girls in Canada are more likely to experience violence, rape, and murder than non-Indigenous women (Statistics Canada, 2022). The MMIWG is a current example of gender violence that is occurring in Canada. We bring more awareness to MMIWG as well as tie the concepts of gender violence together through this ongoing and current case study.

References
Canadian Women’s Foundation Podcast. (2020-2022). Alright, Now What?
https://canadianwomen.org/podcast/
MacKinnon, C.A., (2007). Crimes of war and crimes of peace. Are woman human? And other international dialogues. United States of America: Harvard University Press.
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (2019). Reclaiming
Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/
TEDx talks. (July 18, 2016). We are more than murdered and missing. Tamara Bernard.
TEDxThunderBay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fylLSRQ5kx8
United Nations Human Rights. (2022). What Are Human Rights? United Nations Human Rights
Office of the High Commissioner. https://www.ohchr.org/en/what-are-human-rights
Zwingel, Susanne (2013). "International Feminist Strategies: Strengths and Challenges of the
Rights-Based Approach." Politics & Gender, 9: 344-351.
https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/in
ternational-feminist-strategies-strengths-and-challenges-of-the-rightsbased-approach/B251B7B
F19E8045AAC3E6CF542E31CCA