Aboriginal women in northern Quebec speak out against violence

Aboriginal womenin the remote community of Schefferville are speaking out againstviolencefollowing allegationslevelledagainst police inVal-d'Or.

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One woman formally complained this week to police about an assault that she allegedtook place in 1998.

TheSretduQubecdid not comment on the formal complaint, which isunder investigation.

Anotherwoman in the northern community,who wished to remain anonymous,told Radio-Canada she was also sexually assaulted by an officer in the 1980s, but fearedbringing her caseto police.

Marie-Claude Riverin, the head of a local aboriginal women's centre, said the allegations in Val-d'Or havegivenwomen the courage to talk about their own experiences with violence.

She said more needs to be done to help thesewomen deal with thepainful memoriesevoked by the Val-d'Or reports.

"We really have to work on developing the services and resources to address these issues, which run generations deep," she said.

Scheffervilleis in northeastern Quebec a community due north of Sept-les that has no road access, just a few kilometres from the Labradorborder.

Allegations of sex abuse

Last week, Radio-Canada's investigative programEnqute reported claims that police officers in Val-d'Orroutinely picked up aboriginal women who appeared to be intoxicated, drove them out of town and left them to walk home in the cold. Some allege they were physically assaulted or made to perform sex acts.

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After the Enqute report aired, eight officers already under investigation for abuse of power and assault were suspended or put on administrative duties.

Thatinvestigation hasbeen turned over to the Montreal police department and will be monitored by an independent observer appointed by the Quebec government.

None of the eight officers are under investigation for sex-related acts.

The SQ confirmed that it is investigating two other officers on sex-related allegations, however. One of those dates back to the 1980s and the officer has since died, while the officer in the other case has not been identified.