ABOUT US

Our sole reasoning behind creating this website is to bring awareness to black women who have suffered from domestic violence and police brutality. We as a group have noticed an extreme disparity when it comes to the media coverage of black women being abused compared to their male counterparts. We would like to provide a platform where the stories of thousands of Black women who have been abused within and outside of their communities can be broadcasted. We are addressing how black women’s problems are underrepresented in mainstream media. News sources have steadily ignored issues that plague the black female community such as police brutality and domestic abuse. If awareness is brought to the issues that affect the black female community then it will start a conversation to eventually change the conditions that many black women endure. Black women’s experiences are much different than any other group in America; black women deal with both sexism (as result of living in a misogynistic society) and racism (as a result of slavery) amongst many other forms of discrimination (colorism, texturism, featurism, etc.). Once we have an open, honest dialogue about misogyny and racism we can start to develop a better society in which black women can live peacefully.

Image taken from this website.

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is a taboo subject in the black community and is rarely discussed. Domestic abuse can be defined as “violence of other abuse in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation.” (Anonymous, 2020). African Americans as well as other minority groups don’t discuss the issues that affect their communities as much as they should; they feel that sharing their issues make the groups seam problematic. Nevertheless, not discussing these crucial issues in minority communities have made the problems worse. Frequently, black women experience domestic abuse and it is never talked about or resolved.

•As stated by The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community “According to the 2010-2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, nationally, 45% of Black women experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.” (Hargrove, 2018).
Black women are the number one group of females in America that have experienced some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime.
• “African American females experience intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher than that of white females, and about 2.5 times the rate of women of other races.” (WOCN, 2006).
Black women also are more likely to be killed by men than their white female counterparts (2.5 times more) according to blackburncenter.org (Center, 2020). These startling statistics should be reason enough to bring awareness to black women who have experienced domestic abuse to prevent any more suffering, injuries, and deaths.

Police Brutality

Police brutality is another issue of many that has tormented the black community for centuries in America. Police brutality can be defined as “a civil rights violation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a subject” (Anonymous, 2020). Unlike domestic abuse the black community has continuously discussed the impact and ramifications of police brutality. News stories of the black experience when it comes to interacting with the police has steadily been shown in mainstream media however, it has only been told from the black male perspective; black women’s experiences with police has taken a back burner in the public eye. Black women’s murders inflicted by the police also have not been as talked about within and outside of the black community. The social media campaign #SayHerName was created to bring awareness to black female victims of police brutality after the African American Policy Forum started to notice how neglectful society and the media is when reporting and speaking about black women being murdered compared to their black male counterparts. Research has not been conducted on a nationwide scale to determine exactly how many black women are affected by police brutality however, I was able to find one study that showed that black women are disproportionately affected by police violence compared to other races of women.

• According to American Police Crimes Against African Women and Women of Color, “The Chicago Police Department has averaged approximately 9,700 complaints per year against its 13,000 officers. According to the University of Chicago’s, Campus Catalyst Student’s Review of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), of IPRA’s data on female complainants, over 71% of these victims are African women, and over 87% of all complaints by women are from women of color.” (NOEL & PERLOW, 2014).
Once we bring awareness to police brutality against black women, we can start to build a better American society for the next generation to come; so, the next generation of African American women can be truly safe within and without their communities.

Why We Care

  • I care about black women because… I was raised by caring and loving black women.

    • Catherine C.

  • I care about black women because… there’s an unspoken weird treatment black women face in the media, in the home, and in our society.
  • I care about black women because… I’ve noticed that a majority of #BLM protests have been organized and led by black women.

    • Tania A.

  • I care about black women because… I am a young black woman living in America.
  • I care about black women because… most of my family members that I love dearly are black women.
  • I care about black women because… a majority of my friends are also black women.
  • I care about black women because… we are the most disrespected people on Earth.

    • Refrences

    Anonymous (2020, June 15). Domestic violence. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/domestic_violence Anonymous. (2020, June 24). Police brutality. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_brutality Center, B. (2020, February 26). Black Women & Domestic Violence. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2020/02/26/black-women-domestic-violence NOEL, C. E., & PERLOW, D. (2014). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CERD_NGO_USA_17744_E.pdf Stephanie, Hargrove (2018, October). INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://ujimacommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Intimate-Partner-Violence-IPV-v9.4.pdf WOCN (2006, June). Women of Color Network Facts &Stats: Domestic Violence in Communities of Color. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/women_of_color_network_facts_domestic_violence_2006.pdf