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SAMANTHA M THOMPSON
THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH: BLACK FEMICIDE
BLACK WOMEN IN LONDON ARE CONFRONTED WITH AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH: DESPITE THE ALARMING RATES OF GENDERBASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY, THEY REPRESENT THE ETHNIC GROUP WITH THE HIGHEST FEMICIDE RATES IN THE UK. THIS TRAGEDY REQUIRES A RE-EVALUATION OF THE SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO PROTECT BLACK WOMEN AND RAISES URGENT QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY BLACK WOMEN ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY SUBJECTED TO SUCH EXTREME LEVELS OF ABUSE.
AfroManifesto
The Unspoken Truth: Black Femicide Maya Brookes
Westend61 / Jacob Lund Photography
Femicide is an issue that requires our immediate attention, as women around the world continue to fight the sexist societies that allow them to be subject to such violence and abuse that escalates to a tragic end.
Femicide is an issue that requires our immediate attention, as women around the world continue to fight the sexist societies that allow them to be subject to such violence and abuse that escalates to a tragic end. Defined by the UN as “an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation, femicide may be driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, unequal power relations between women and men, or harmful social norms”.
In the UK, out of the 13 femicide victims recorded in 2023, eight were Black (62%), a troubling increase from 2022 where out of the 21 femicide victims nine (43%) were Black. These statistics present an unsettling reality given that Black people only make up around 4% of the population. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation of genderbased violence. Lockdown measures, intended to curb the spread of the virus, inadvertently trapped individuals in private spaces, intensifying the rate of domestic violence incidents. One of the most common cases of violence against women is intimate partner violence which, as defined by Women Worldwide, includes physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and controlling behaviours by a current or ex-partner.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said Sadiq Khan has invested £163m as part of his public health approach to tackle violence against women and girls. This includes targeted funding to support community organisations working with women and girls from Black, Asian and minority-ethnic communities and other minoritised groups, including the LGBTQ+ community. However, with rates of femicide and domestic abuse still at disproportionally high levels within the Black community, more needs to be done to support and protect those who are victim to this epidemic.
AfroManifesto
The Unspoken Truth: Black Femicide Maya Brookes
An in-depth look at the stereotypes and perceptions surrounding Black women can shed light on why they are frequent targets. The “strong Black woman” stereotype has a detrimental impact on their treatment. From a young age they are taught to resist in times of struggle, to be fearless and to live up to the ideal of being a strong Black woman. However, this stereotype, reinforced within the Black community itself, often results in their sufering and pain being neglected. Pain is seen as a sign of weakness, leading many to feel they cannot speak out and must instead remain strong and learn to move on. Research undertaken by Sistah Space, a domestic abuse charity advocating for Black women, highlighted that in the UK 86% of women of African and/ or Caribbean heritage have either been a victim of domestic abuse or know a family member who has been assaulted. Yet, only 57% of victims said they would report the abuse to the police. These statistics show the lack of trust towards the police due to historical institutional racism. Fearful that nothing will change or, worse yet, they will just be met with further disrespect, Black women feel they cannot seek help.
The adultification of Black children is another harmful prejudice that Black children of all genders are subject to. Perceived as less innocent, the adultification bias has grave consequences in criminal cases, neglecting the fact they are children and are still developing both physically and emotionally. This is particularly harmful to Black girls who are perceived to be more emotionally strong, more mature and consequently more knowledgeable about sex. The hyper-sexualisation of Black girls results in them becoming targets of sexual assault and harassment from a younger age. A report undertaken by the University of York highlights the ways in which mixed-race, Black and Asian girls are disproportionately likely to be subject to harmful and threatening behaviour, and consequently the specific challenges they face in reporting it to authorities. This issue was highlighted with the case of Child Q in 2020. A 15-yearold Black girl was wrongly accused of possessing drugs and strip-searched by Met police ofcers while on her period, without any other adult present. This gross misconduct and abuse of power underscores the urgent need for a serious reassessment of how Black women and girls are treated.
Several charities are paving the path towards change. Sistah Space led a campaign calling for mandatory training for police and agencies supporting Black women who are victims of domestic abuse. The campaign, named Valerie’s Law, after Valerie Forde and her 23-month-old daughter who were brutally murdered by Valerie’s ex-partner Roland Mckoy in 2014, calls for police to be better trained to recognise the signs of domestic abuse among Black women. These women are at increased risk of being left with their abusers after police are called to the scene. The campaign has garnered support from several advocates, including FKA twigs, the British artist who filed a civil lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf. FKA twigs, of Jamaican, Spanish and English descent, hoped that by speaking out about her abusive relationship she could help raise awareness of intimate partner violence. Acting as the voiceover for the campaign video, she is joined by actors such as Megan Cusack from “Call the Midwife” and Leah Harvey from Apple TV’s series “Foundation.” The video highlights cases where police failed to notice signs of physical injuries, which can be less obvious on darker skin, underscoring the negligence towards Black women by law enforcement. Also, Valerie’s Law calls for “mandatory cultural competency training that accounts for the cultural nuances and barriers, colloquialisms, languages and customs that make up the diverse Black community” to ensure that the specific needs of Black women are met to better protect them from their abusers.
It is a chilling reality that Black women face. Despite years of reforms and changes in law, the safety of Black women is still not considered a priority. It is imperative that governmental bodies acknowledge the urgent necessity for enhanced protection measures and actively dismantle damaging stereotypes ingrained within the attitudes of those entrusted with supporting and safeguarding domestic abuse victims. Our community must step up and take proactive steps to eradicate these stereotypes and commit unequivocally to ending domestic abuse and femicide among Black women.
References
BBC, 2024. Black women in London face higher femicide rates. [Online]. Available at: https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0xxgn82yv7o.amp [Accessed 28 June 2024].
Carlos, M., 2024. FKA Twigs opens up her abusive relationship with Shia LaBeouf. [Online]. Available at: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/ a35460385/fka-twigs-shia-la-beouf-abuse/ [Accessed 28 June 2024].
Davies, C., 2022. Child Q: four Met police ofcers facing investigation over strip-search. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ uk-news/2022/jun/15/child-q-four-met-policeofcers-facing-investigation-over-strip-search [Accessed 28 June 2024].
GOV.UK, 2022. Population of England and Wales. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-factsfgures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/ national-and-regional-populations/population-ofengland-and-wales/latest/#main-facts-and-fgures [Accessed 28 June 2024].
Sistah Space, 2024. Supporting African & Caribbean Heritage Women Afected By Domestic & Sexual Abuse. [Online]. Available at: https://www. sistahspace.org [Accessed 28 June 2024].
Univeristy of York, 2023. Report reveals extent of public sexual harassment experienced by Black and minoritised girls in the UK. [Online]. Available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/ research/harassment-black-minoritised-girls/ [Accessed 28 June 2024].
UN Women, 2023. Five essential facts to know about femicide. [Online]. Available at: https://www. unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/11/ fve-essential-facts-to-know-about-femicide [Accessed 28 June 2024].
Womankind Worldwide, 2024. INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE. [Online]. Available at: https:// www.womankind.org.uk/intimate-partnerviolence/#:~:text=Intimate%20partner%20 violence%20(IPV)%20(,a%20current%20or%20 ex%2Dpartner [Accessed 28 June 2024].
AfroManifesto
The Unspoken Truth: Black Femicide Maya Brookes
A woman from the Young Women’s Freedom Center attending a rally in San Francisco, USA (2019). Credit: Shelly Rivoli / Alamy Live News.