Quebec helps fund new 24/7 helpline for Indigenous women facing violence

A new 24/7 helpline will soon be available for Indigenous women facing conjugal, family or sexual violence in Quebec.

On Monday, Martine Biron, minister responsible for the status of women, announced an investment of nearly $900,000 over three years to support the project. 

The phone line, which will be available in English, French and several Indigenous languages, will be put in place by Espace Femmes Premières Nations Québec and has been in the works for nearly three years.

Bowing her head and holding a moment of silence, Marjolaine Étienne, president of Quebec Native Women, says the announcement makes her think about all the women and girls "living minute by minute, second by second."

"Spousal, family and sexual violence, it's still present, if not even more present right now," said Étienne, speaking at a news conference in Wendake, just outside Quebec City.

"Indigenous women suffer in silence … but it's not the right thing to keep it all inside."

Quebec Native Women, which founded Espace Femmes Premières Nations Québec, has been defending women's rights for 50 years.

Étienne says Indigenous women want a service where they know they will be served by a member of their own community. She says she's relieved to know that this new tool will be able to offer psychosocial, legal and referral resources to those women.

"They need to be respected. It's a right to be respected, it's a right to be safe," said Étienne. "If everyone believes in it, this phone line will change a lot of things."

Biron says this investment goes toward creating safe spaces.

"When you're a victim of violence, your first instinct is to withdraw," said Biron.

"But this project will enable Indigenous women to reach out to their peers, to people in the communities themselves, who will be able to help them with their specific needs."

Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, says there's sometimes an element of guilt and shame associated with violence.

"I think it's a legacy from years of colonization," said Picard.

"Our cultures are still very much very specific … and that includes the way we react to different realities around us, including violence."

He says the situation facing Indigenous women is serious enough to warrant this new resource, but he says it will take time to establish and build trust with communities.

It's unclear exactly when the new tool will be available to the public.