A/HRC/41/42/Add.1 imprisonment for women with mental health conditions by transferring prisoners to mental health services, facilities or psychiatric hospitals. Overincarceration of indigenous women 67. The overincarceration of indigenous people is among the most pressing social justice and human rights issues in Canada. The number of federally sentenced indigenous women increased from 168 in March 2009 to 270 in March 2018. At the end of the reporting period, 40 per cent of incarcerated women in Canada were of indigenous ancestry, numbers that were described as “distressing”.37 68. Indigenous women are also overrepresented in segregation and, as a result, have limited to no access to programmes, education, training or access to justice or alternatives to incarceration. They are more likely to be considered high risk and high need and are classified as having low reintegration potential, in addition to being released later in their sentences. Canada has legislation that allows for the “decarceration” of prisoners, yet it is rarely used, and segregation remains a widespread practice. 69. In compliance with the Criminal Code, following the decision in R v. Gladue, judges should consider the background circumstances of indigenous offenders. 38 Some provinces and territories now use “aboriginal social history reports” to give judges information on the lives of indigenous people before sentencing. There are warnings, however, that such reports remain poorly understood and sometimes simply reinforce stereotypes and undermine the agency of the offender.39 70. In addition to the provisions in the Criminal Code requiring that judges consider “all available sanctions, other than imprisonment” for offenders, sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act relating to federal corrections allow women to execute the sentence in their community or apply for early release to an indigenous community. Unfortunately, this legislation is underutilized, underfunded and often not communicated to women as part of their intake process. H. Situation of women who encounter multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence 71. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur paid special attention to the situation of women and girls who encounter multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence and experience higher rates of all forms of violence against women. 1. Violence against indigenous women and girls 72. The Government of Canada has recognized that the basic inequalities that exist between indigenous people and the rest of the Canadian population are a reminder of the failure by the State to overcome systemic racism, the intergenerational trauma resulting from colonialism and the inadequate provision of specialized services and programmes for each community. 73. Indigenous people from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities represent approximately 5 per cent of population of Canada, with indigenous women accounting for about half of that total. Indigenous women and girls, however, are three times more likely to be victimized by violence, including intimate partner violence and violent crime, and approximately six times higher to be a victim of female homicide. 7 74. According to information from the Native Women’s Association of Canada, more than 4,000 indigenous women and girls have been murdered or reported missing since the 37 38 39 See http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/cnt/rpt/annrpt/annrpt20172018-eng.aspx#s6. See https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/11/21/Failing-Indigenous-Offenders/. See Toni Williams, “Intersectionality analysis in the sentencing of aboriginal women in Canada: what difference does it make?”, in Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location, Davina Cooper and others, eds., (London, Routledge, 2008). 13