ONA observes Red Dress Day

On May 5, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) commemorates Red Dress Day also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People.

ONA grieves all who have lost loved ones and supports families and communities in their continued fight for justice.

First held in 2010, Red Dress Day was inspired by the work of Métis artist Jaime Black on the REDress Project, which includes a series of red dresses to honour and symbolize the lost lives of Indigenous women due to violence.

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) crisis in Canada refers to the disproportionately high rates of violence, disappearance, and murder among Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people.

A Statistics Canada report – which draws from data from a 2018 study – notes that almost six in 10 Indigenous women have experienced physical assault while almost half of Indigenous women have experienced sexual assault. This is in comparison to about one-third of non-Indigenous women who have experience physical or sexual assault. The data used for this report is from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, which is administered once every five years.

However, due to various factors such as underreporting and record-keeping discrepancies, these numbers are believed to be much higher. The crisis has been ongoing for decades and is a result of systemic racism, colonialism, and gender-based violence.

Indigenous women and girls have faced historic oppression and systemic barriers that continue to hinder them. We encourage all members to take the time to engage, be willing to learn, as well as reflect on the issues faced by Indigenous women and girls.

On this day, marches, memorials, and displays of red dresses in public spaces are held to show support for the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Red Dress Day is a day for governments, agencies, organizations, industries, and all Canadians to be part of the solution in ending the genocide of Indigenous women and girls.

Take Action

• Join ONA and the Ontario Federation of Labour in supporting the creation of a Red Dress Alert. The response times to reports of a missing Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person are far too slow and a Red Dress Alert – like an Amber Alert – would make a difference.
• Show your support by sending a request to the Minister of Public Safety to implement a Red Dress Alert to notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl, or Two-Spirit person goes missing. This is a tangible step for the federal government to end the ongoing genocide of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
• Wear red and post to social media or send your photo to digital@ona.org so ONA can share it. In an act of support and reconciliation, wear red to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. You can wear a red dress, shirt, pin or any item that is red to bring awareness to the issue. In this act, we acknowledge the suffering survivors, families and loved ones experience and it publicly shows that their loved ones continue to be missed, remembered, and mourned.

Learn More

• National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• ONA Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Action Plan
• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Vol. 1a and Vol. 1b
• Native Women’s Association of Canada