INDIGENOUS WOMEN FILE LAWSUIT

Five First Nations women from different communities around B.C. are suing the provincial government over allegations they were sexually and physically abused in foster homes.

The alleged victims, whose claims date back to the 1960s and run through to the 1980s, were young girls at the time and say that government social workers knew about the abuse or were willfully blind to it. Several say they were removed from a foster home when complaints surfaced, only to be moved to another foster home where more abuse occurred.

One woman, who was born in Fort St. James and now lives in Prince George, was apprehended in 1963 shortly after birth and was in ministry care until 1981.

She says that she was physically, psychologically and sexually abused from as early as she can remember in the first foster home where she was placed.

The physical abuse was allegedly perpetrated by her foster mother, who whipped her with rubber cords, dragged her around the house and slammed her head against the wall. The sexual abuse was allegedly perpetrated by the father of the foster mother and occurred while the mom was away at work. The ministry did not adequately monitor and supervise the foster home, says the plaintiff.

When she and a foster sister disclosed some of the abuse, a ministry social worker’s solution was to have them speak to the foster parents with the social worker and a native school coordinator present, she says. The plaintiff was removed from the home eventually and placed in another foster home, but endured more sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a relative of the foster parents.

In an email, the Ministry of Children and Family Development said it cannot comment on active legal cases and the government is committed to lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.