A/77/514 Interlocutors report that restrictions flowing from Canada's 1867 Indian Act effectively prevented indigenous women from voting, serving as elected representatives, or benefiting from matriarchal inheritance, entrenching inequality. 113 Land appropriation often has gendered ramifications, particularly "underminin[g] indigenous women's status and roles" in matriarchal and matrilineal societies.114 In one recent comparative survey, 22 of 30 States gave greater legal recognition to men's rights over women's in inheriting traditional land. 115 49. Historically, colonial and patriarchal systems steeped in prejudice towards indigenous culture and spirituality have depicted women as "untamed savage[s]," "witches," and "uncivilized"116 —a subject to "normalize" through forced assimilation—to "exotic" and "sexually deviant"117 because of norms for sexual and reproductive practices (e.g., birth outside of marriage and widow re-marriage). The Special Rapporteur is concerned with reports that media, cultural influencers, and individuals hypersexualize, fetishize and objectify indigenous women. Patriarchal concepts of sex- and gender-based roles, sex-based superiority or inferiority, increasing social inequalities, and the prevalence of maledominated power structures are among multidimensional causes of harmful practices against indigenous women118 which threaten their ability to live freely, equally, and in keeping with their right to freedom of religion or belief. 50. Amongst those harmful practices, many indigenous women worldwide are disproportionately vulnerable to SGBV, trafficking, and acts related to witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks.119 The National Human Rights Commission ("NHRI") of Nepal recently found that 49% of women trafficking survivors are indigenous.120 Indigenous Australian women are 35 times more likely to experience domestic and family violence.121 In Cameroon, 55% of Mbororo women testify to surviving domestic violence before they were 15 years old.122 "Man camps" (temporary housing facilities for the majority non-indigenous workforce) in Malaysia, India, and Canada have reportedly heightened SGBV against indigenous women.123 One study of Fort Berthold Indian Reservation found a correlation between workers’ arrival and an approximately 75% increase in sexual assaults.124 Interlocutors also highlight that indigenous survivors of SGBV often face stigmatization from within their communities and the police. Said treatment and attitudes often deter reporting, increase the risk of revictimization, and effectively function to "protect perpetrators and silence women."125 51. Several scholars characterize indigenous women as occupying a space that oscillates between invisibility in private—primarily as survivors of SGBV—and hypervisibility in 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 14 https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/marginalization_of_aboriginal_women/ A/HRC/30/41,(para.16) https://rightsandresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Power-and-Potential-A-ComparativeAnalysis-of-National-Laws-and-Regulations-Concerning-Womens-Rights-to-CommunityForests_May-2017_RRI-1.pdf E.g. Submissions-UCTP, IITC. E.g. https://nwac.ca/assets-knowledgecentre/Fact_Sheet_Root_Causes_of_Violence_Against_Aboriginal_Women-1.pdf,(p.3). A/HRC/50/26,(paras.24-25); https://www.unfpa.org/resources/breaking-silence-violence-againstindigenous-girls-adolescents-and-young-women,(pp.19-26). Submissions-UCTP, IITC; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/097185240000400301,(p.18); https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=jiws,(pp.21-22); https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/indigenouswomen.pdf,(paras.113-117). https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/indigenous-women-and-girls-disproportionately-traffickednepal. https://www.dss.gov.au/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduceviolence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022 https://ffacameroon.org/activities/gender-based-violence-against-indigenous-women-and-girls-gbv/ https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/nulr/vol116/iss2/4/; https://www.asianindigenouswomen.org/index.php/violence-against-indigenous-women/73-a-widercontext-of-sexual-exploitation-og-penan-women-and-girls-in-middle-and-ulu-baram-sarawakmalaysia/file https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1671&context=articles,(pp.2-4). A/HRC/30/41,(para.71).