Three territorial ministers will be pushing the concerns of northern aboriginal women at a meeting of the ministers responsible for Status of Women in Toronto today.

Yukon Women's Directorate Minister Elaine Taylor said the territories lobbied to have three items added to the meeting's agenda.

'These are issues of great importance to the territories,' Taylor told the Star.

The issues that have been added include: funding for women's shelters, creating a regional Status of Women Council office in the North and developing a national plan to collectively address violence against aboriginal women.

'Statistics continue to demonstrate the need for shelters for women fleeing violence and abuse,' said Taylor. 'In the North, there are additional complexities compared to elsewhere in Canada.'

There are higher rates of violence against women in the North, said Taylor, and small communities and isolation can make it more challenging to provide the programming needed to curb it.

An October 2006 report from Statistics Canada shows women in the territories report a higher rate of spousal violence than those living in the provinces with higher levels of sexual assault and homicide occurring.

Shelters in the territories are also used at a higher level than anywhere else in the country, said the Statistics Canada report.

The statistics go on to show that 12 per cent of the married adult residents in the territory reported having experienced violence from a partner over the last five years.

Continuing to establish shelters and to secure federal funding for them is important, Taylor added.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has announced funding increases for women's shelters located on reserves as defined under the Indian Act.

It's welcome news, said Taylor, but it is money that has to do with reserve criteria.

'We are concerned that none of the additional money will be made available for northern women,' she said.

Establishing a regional office in the North would also better address the 'diverse needs and challenges' in the territories, she added.

The territories have been pushing for a regional office for years and will continue to urge the federal government to do so despite the recent cuts the Conservatives have made to regional Status of Women offices.

A regional office would be operated by individuals from the North who are familar with the issues, Taylor said.

The mandate of the Women's Directorate is to seek full equality. Violence against women is one of the largest barriers to equality in the North, she said.

A northern office would be far more aware of the challenges encountered by northern aboriginal women on a daily basis, she added.

'We just think there would be a lot more sensitivity by having an office actually situated locally,' she said.

The territories would also like to see the next steps in addressing the policies suggested at the Aboriginal Women and Violence conference held in 2006.

More than 200 aboriginal women from across the country gathered to make suggestions on combating violence against women.

The forum focused on public awareness, education, policy and capacity-building.

Studies by Amnesty International have found aboriginal women between the ages of 24 and 44 are five times more likely to become victims of, or even die of, violence than are other Canadian women.

Provinces and territories in Canada need to take ownership of the challenges of violence against aboriginal women if the issue is to ever be resolved, said Taylor.

'Change isn't going to occur without communities leading the charge,' she added.

Taylor stressed violence is a learned behaviour, and when dealing with aboriginal women, a 'cookie cutter' approach doesn't work.

'Ministers responsible for the Status of Women made a commitment to address violence against aboriginal women in a collaborative manner,' said Taylor.

'This meeting will form the basis for developing an action plan that will collectively advance those important issues.'

The time is now to discuss the issues and to advance them and remove some of the barriers being experienced by aboriginal women, she said.

Taylor will be returning from Toronto tonight.