What is Red Dress Day? Red Dress Day 2025, held every May 5th in Canada, is a National Day of remembrance and activism honouring the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited People (MMIWG2S+). It began with the REDress Project, created by Métis artist Jaime Black in 2010. On this day, red dresses will be draped in trees, hanging from windows, pinned to jackets, worn as earrings and red hands painted across faces, people will be partaking in rally’s and ceremonies to honour their loved ones, participating as ally’s and fighting for justice. Why Red Dress Day Matters Disproportionate Victimization Indigenous women and girls make up less than 5% of the Canadian population but represent approximately 24% of all homicide victims. They are 12x more likely to be murdered. Over 60% of Indigenous women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Intimate Partner Violence A statistics Canada report showed that 56% of Indigenous women experience intimate partner violence, more than double the rate for non-Indigenous people. Overrepresentation in Incarceration Indigenous women constitute 41.4% of the federally incarcerated female population, despite representing just over 4% of the Canadian female population. Indigenous women, girls and 2 Spirited people face a human rights crisis in Canada, the violence that they face amounts to genocide called by the MMIWG Report. It is not just a crisis – it is a national shame. Canada has built systems that disappear Indigenous women from the Indian Act to modern policing. These broken structures are doing what they were designee to do: erase Indigenous presence, silence Indigenous voices, and sever Indigenous futures. Red Dress Day matters because it makes the invisible visible. It forces this country to confront the truth. It reminds us that every single life matters, that these lives still matter, and we will never stop fighting for justice. We must transform society and shift the way Canadians think about and approach the issues related to violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Source: https://amnesty.ca/red-dress-day/ (fb)

THIS Sunday! (fb)