Strategic Policy Areas: A Clear Focus for Lasting Impact

Following our strategic plan, our approach is informed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) are woven throughout our work. GBA+ strengthens our decolonizing and anti-colonial perspectives, while IQ principles guide all our initiatives.

Health:
Key Focus: We will continue advocating against anti-Indigenous racism in the healthcare system, including addressing coerced sterilization and medical violence. Our efforts focus on reviving Inuit midwifery and improving access to culturally informed medical services for Inuit women.

Access to equitable, culturally safe health services is a top priority. We are dedicated to addressing anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare, including injustices such as coerced sterilization and medical violence. Our focus on Inuit-led healthcare includes restoring Inuit traditional practices of midwifery and working to integrate with modern doula care systems  to help keep Inuit women and children in community and culture during childbirth. This work involves removing colonial regulatory barriers that restrict Inuit midwives from practicing and developing Inuit-specific midwifery education and training. It is time to restore autonomy to our families, allowing Inuit women to choose culturally grounded care and avoid the trauma of separation and isolation in unfamiliar health settings.

Social and Economic Development:
Key Focus: Our advocacy focus is on food sovereignty and reducing living costs, particularly for Inuit women and children. We are actively addressing economic exclusion by exploring the potential of initiatives like guaranteed basic income and working to increase leadership opportunities for Inuit women.

Food insecurity not only impacts Inuit women, but it also impacts our children disproportionately, with eight out of ten Inuit in Nunangat experiencing it, compared to one in ten non-Inuit Canadians. These conditions result from active decision-making that puts corporate interests over Inuit culture and well-being, creating greater dependence on southern food supplies and subsidies while severing ties to traditional food systems. Economic exclusion impacts Inuit women by limiting job access and opportunities. Despite being the majority in Inuit Nunangat, Inuit remain under-represented in leadership positions. The continued exclusion of Inuit from leadership positions limits Inuit decision-making in economic choices that affect our lives and communities.

Violence, Abuse Prevention, and Justice:
Focus Area: Our ongoing work on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) includes research, data, and addressing the colonial justice system, including police misconduct and the over-incarceration of Inuit individuals.

Five years after the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), only 2 of the 231 Calls for Justice have been implemented. The experiences of Inuit women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals were not fully reflected in this process. Pauktuutit, along with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), created an Inuit MMIWG Action Plan, that has also seen little progress. Inuit women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals are still being targeted by a colonial system that dehumanizes and devalues them. Our advocacy efforts address this genocide and recognizes the role that police misconduct plays in perpetuating violence. We are working to not only combat these colonial systems, we are also working to help revitalize Inuit justice systems towards true Inuit self-determination and safety.

Housing:
Key Focus: Safe, affordable housing is a critical need that exists in the background of all the work that we do. We are advocating for access to shelters and transitional housing with comprehensive support services for women experiencing intimate partner violence, custody release, or medical recovery.

The need for safe, and affordable housing intersects across all our policy areas. The lack of affordable, culturally appropriate, and safe housing is a historical crisis that Inuit have experienced since forced settlement. This crisis places immense social and economic strain on Inuit Nunangat, widening inequalities and causing severe repercussions for Inuit women. Overcrowded housing impacts physical health and exacerbates mental health issues, creating stress and fostering tensions within families and communities. We see the connection between lack of housing and violence lead to deadly consequences when women and children are unable to leave unsafe situations because there are no other options available to us. Inuit were promised safe, affordable, and appropriate housing by the federal government, and we will continue to press Canada to deliver on this promise.

A Future Guided by Clear Purpose
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada is committed to addressing the most pressing issues faced by Inuit women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals. Through our strategic plan and policy priorities, we are working to create lasting change in the lives of Inuit women, children, and gender-diverse people across Canada.

Together, we can create a future where Inuit women, children, and gender-diverse peoples are supported, safe, and empowered to thrive.