Sociology- Social Work
Aboriginal Social Work
Why does Judge Murray Sinclair note that the legal concept of innocence/guilt is not granted by Aboriginal societies as it is in the Canadian Justice System?
In Aboriginal communities, guilt is typically secondary to the main issue: the main concern is that something is erroneous and it has to be corrected. Since the main purpose is the reinstatement of accord rather than the imposition of reprimand, the accused is more likely to confess bad behavior. Judge Sinclair proposes that possibly this explicates why so many Aboriginal people plead guilty when in court. The Canadian criminal justice system is founded on Euro-Canadian principles and, as a consequence, frequently clashes with Aboriginal values. High levels of imprisonment, augmented focus from law enforcement, language hurdles, conflicting values and theoretical frameworks concerning crime and punishment, as well as certain issues faced by youth, all add to the breakdown of the criminal justice system to meet the requirements of Aboriginal...
What concerns does Amnesty International have in relation of violence towards Aboriginal women?
Amnesty International recognizes that there are a lot of likenesses between Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal women's occurrences of violence in Canada. Violence against women, and definitely violence against Aboriginal women, is not often comprehended as a human rights issue. To the degree that governments, media and the general public do think concerns regarding violence against women, it is more common for it to be portrayed as a criminal apprehension or a social matter. It is of course both of those things. But it is in addition very much a human rights matter. Women have the right to be secure and free from aggression. Aboriginal women have the right to be secure and free from aggression. When a woman is beleaguered for violence because of her gender or because of her Aboriginal distinctiveness, her basic rights have been injured. And when she is not presented a sufficient level of guard by state…
