Resource extraction projects, and the worker camps (man camps) that make them possible, are a threat to Indigenous women.
There is a connection between an influx of transient workers—those who arrive in mostly isolated towns and cities from elsewhere to work in mines or industries like oil, gas or hydro—and higher rates of sexual assault, harassment, STIs and women entering the sex trade. It points to rampant drug and alcohol abuse among workers housed in camps, compounded by long hours, above average pay and a tendency to “blow off steam.” Resource projects in Canada routinely draw workers from across the country and around the world. This reality, leads to a mostly male workforce that typically has no connection to the people or place.
When Mining companies destroy nature, Indigenous women suffer more violence.