‘More needs to be done’: Red Dress Day in Vancouver
Posted May 5, 2023 10:24 pm.
Last Updated May 5, 2024 12:46 pm.
May 5 marked Red Dress Day, an occasion to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2Spirit people, and advocates are speaking out about what needs to be done to protect women.
Lorelei Williams, the founder of the advocacy group Butterflies in Spirit, lost her cousin in 1996. Tanya Holyk’s DNA was discovered at the Pickton farm. Williams says the situation hasn’t improved despite years of raising awareness.
“Nothing is supporting Indigenous women and girls. If anything, they are supporting the predators. The laws and policies across this country support predators because they know they don’t care for us. They know they can get away with murdering us and stealing us,” she said.
Williams works closely with families in Metro Vancouver and says many cases are dismissed too quickly.
“Why are you not looking into human trafficking? Why are you not looking into exploitation? They are so quick to call them overdoses, they really need to look into these cases,” she said.
May. 5 marks Red Dress Day to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2Spirit people. Advocates are speaking out about what needs to be done to protect women. (Angela Bower, CityNews Image)
Williams says both the provincial and federal governments need to do more.
“The racism has to stop. I have said this many times before. We live in a racist country, we have racist policies and laws,” she said.
On Tuesday, the House of Commons unanimously adopted MP Leah Gazan’s motion declaring the loss of Indigenous women, girls, and 2Spirit people an emergency.
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And now Gazan is pushing for the Canadian government to fund a Red Dress Alert System for a nationwide text message when an Indigenous woman, girl, or 2Spirit person is missing.
“I think that is so important time-wise, it means everything … If we know right away just like the amber alerts, we know there is a child missing, there is someone in jeopardy, this is what red alerts would do,” said Marny Point from UBC’s Indigenous Education Program. “We would know immediately that there is a lost sister that needs our help needs our assistance.”
“We have to fight for this. That shows right there what this government is like, how the government treats us. It should have been like this a long time ago, I am always saying we are under a state of emergency,” Williams added.
