Indigenous women in western Canada are the victims of discrimination and abuse by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers, says Human Rights Watch.

It interviewed 50 women for the report, entitled Those Who Take Us Away, which claims aggressive policing, neglect and allegations of sexual abuse by some RCMP members.

Activists say it has created a climate of fear among First Nation women.

The RCMP said it took the allegations in the report very seriously.

The women interviewed for the report made a series of allegations against the RCMP, including of aggressive policing and inappropriate use of strip searches to accusations of sexual assault.
‘Gang raped’ by police

One woman told the report’s authors that she had been gang raped by police officers.

“There’s frustration, there’s distrust of authority,” said Meghan Rhoad, who wrote the report for Human Rights Watch.

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