Well, it’s now official, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 (“coronavirus”) viral disease that has swept into at least 114 countries, a pandemic. This is the first that WHO has announced since the H1N1 “swine flu” in 2009. (1) That outbreak was said to have infected almost a quarter of the global population taking an estimated 284,000 lives (0.02%). (2) Figures suggest that so far there are 5,798 COVID-19 fatalities from 154,155 cases around the world. (3)
For expert guidance on how deal with COVID-19 in a naturopathic way, the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement have teamed up with the Mariandina Research Foundation to host an Health Semina: Coronavirus – How to protect yourself, on Friday March 20th at Mama Afika Kulcha Shap. The presentation will be led by Mariandina CEO Stephen Tamale Ssali. There will also be free Coronavirus Health Packs foe every attendee. For more information go to: https://www.alkebulan.org/health-seminar-coronavirus/.
Either by design or circumstance pandemics, when they occur, can elicit extreme and at times irrational responses (e.g. panic buying toilet paper). (4) Yet there are other ongoing tragedies that families have to deal with. For instance, whilst COVID-19 has been grabbing the headlines, twenty-four-year-old Ricardo Fuller died in hospital from injuries sustained after being stabbed to death outside a nightclub in east London on March 7th. (5) The following day seventeen-year-old aspiring athlete Damani Mauge was stabbed to death on south London bus. (6) A few days after that four teenage boys were taken to hospital after being stabbed in east London for which seven people have been arrested. (7) These reports also happened to coincide with the convictions of Romario Lindo for stabbing Perry Jordan-Brammar, 15, last summer and .an unnamed seventeen-year-old for the murder of Solomon Small, 18, also last summer. (8)
Cases like these often ignite discussions that employ terms like “gangs,” “school to prison pipeline,” “youth culture” and “rites of passage.” (9) Although not necessarily represented in the instances cited above, one “invisible” factor in these homicide statistics is the fact that in 2019 about a fifth were committed by a partner, ex-partner or a family member. (10)
In other words, as “domestic violence killings reach five-year high,” its coverage is often masked under headings like “knife crime” or even “youth violence.” For example, Sis. Charlotte Huggins was stabbed in the back with a large kitchen knife and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Michael Rolle, on New Year’s Day 2019. The court heard that after spotting her with another man Rolle attacked her in a “jealous rage,” but the murder case “attracted little attention when it came to trial.” (11)
So what we find is that every so often a domestic abuse case will receive widespread coverage in it’s own right, usually if there are extraordinary features like with Sis. Kelly Fauvrelle who was stabbed to death last summer while eight months pregnant. Her unborn baby son, Riley, passed away four days later. Kelly’s ex-partner Aaron McKenzie has been charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty. A hearing has been set for March 20th and the trial is scheduled to begin on June 29, the first anniversary of her death. It is expected to last up to four weeks. (12)
More recently, grime artist Andy Anokye, who is better known as Solo 45 as part of the collective Boy Better Know, was found guilty of raping four women:
“Anokye’s victims described how he beat them, threatened them with weapons, held them against their will and even waterboarded them. The 33-year-old artist, who was part of the collective Boy Better Know, admitted in court that he liked to “terrorise” women but insisted that they always consented to his “rape game”.
Anokye was found guilty at Bristol crown court of 30 charges relating to a two-year period. He was unanimously convicted of 21 rapes, five counts of false imprisonment, two counts of assault by penetration, and two of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge William Hart adjourned sentencing for a date to be fixed and ordered a psychiatric report on the defendant.” (13)
We don’t know who Solo 45’s victims were but given that just 1.7 per cent of reported rapes are prosecuted in England and Wales, they are to be commended for coming forward. (14). In response to Anokye’s conviction Irish DJ and television presenter Annie Mac tweeted:
“We have to wake up to the systemic misogyny that exists on every level within rap culture. Still girls are accessories, brags, video props… Everyone is complicit. The labels, the mgmt
[management]
the streaming companies, the radio stations.” (15)
However, it might be argued that “systemic misogyny that exists on every level within rap culture” because it exists on every level within society one of the consequences of which is that, barring the extreme or even celebrity related cases that hit the headlines, domestic abuse is often submerged under issues like knife crime or even the so-called “hostile environment.” Yet it is an issue the Afrikan community has to take seriously given that “Black women” as a group suffer abuse at a rate higher than any other group (except “Mixed/multiple ethnic”) but are less likely to report. (16) The ongoing “hostile environment” situation that turbo-charged the ‘Windrush’ scandal and fuels the “deportation flight” illustrates how the headlines can mask this issue.
On February 27th of this year, The Metro newspaper reported that: “Black women scared to report domestic abuse in case Home Office deports them.” (17) The article features the Hackney-based charity Sistah Space, who were given a remit by the City Hall to look into why women of African and Caribbean heritage were underreporting domestic abuse. According to founder Ngozi Headley-Fulani:
“When they go to the police they’re either not taken seriously because as females we seem to be viewed as men – not fragile and in need of protection. ‘We’re not given the same response as our white and Asian counterparts. Also, we’re asked, “Where are your red marks?”. ‘But some of us have very dark skin. We don’t go red. It’s very clear we’re not listened to or understood. So there’s no point. ‘With the new Windrush scandal, our clients who weren’t reporting before, are even more mindful. Those who perhaps might report, will not now. Even though they have British citizenship, you can’t be certain you will not be deported. What is also happening is that perpetrators, knowing they will not be reported, are having a field day. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of women coming to us because they are not going to anybody else.” (18)
So coming forward to report abuse is challenging enough in and of itself. The threat of deportation provides another layer of deterrent. The dominant narrative around the deportation debate is that it targets only “serious criminals.” Although evidence indicates this not only is this not necessarily the case, the government has also ably demonstrated its penchant for illegal deportations. (19) Moreover, the case of Shamina Begum raises the spectre of another dimension to the existing deportation fears. Shamina Begum was the London schoolgirl groomed online by ISIS before fleeing in 2015 to join them in Syria. She is now detained by Kurdish-led forces in the Al Roj camp in the northern part of the country. Why case her matters is that when news emerged early last year that she was being held at Al Roj the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped her of her UK citizenship even though she was born in the UK and has lived nowhere else. (20)
Javid argued that withdrawing citizenship wouldn’t leave Begum stateless, which is illegal. He based his action on section 40{4} of the British Nationality Act 1981, which cites that citizenship deprivation can be deployed against the children of immigrant parents. Those who have inherited another nationality from their parents have less protection against deprivation. The context for Javid’s move was Begum’s link to a terrorist organisation and the purported danger she presented. (21)
One wonders in the current climate how difficult it would be for a government that refuses to disavow eugenics to exponentially talk up the perceived threat of Afrikan “serious criminals” with “immigrant parents,” opening the door to egregious denials of citizenship. (22)
Thus, the lack of amenable services can place Afrikan women in a precarious situation as Sis. Ngozi explains:
“Most of the violence against women and girls (VAWG) services do not understand African heritage experience. If you look on most of their websites, you will not see ourselves at all. You will see images of white and Asian women, but very rarely, if ever, see black women. The Rastafarian image just doesn’t exist online.
‘Why is this relevant? There are organisations that support Jewish women going through domestic abuse. There’s groups for Asian women and many others too. ‘When it comes to black women, we’re supposed to be seen by everybody else. But we’re the ones who are most different to everyone else in most regards. Nobody has hair like ours, nobody has skin like ours. So when you send us to refuges far out where people don’t understand us. They stare at us. Mainstream organisations do not understand us, so do not cater for us,’ she added. When you don’t see yourself reflected on websites and television, how will you feel encourage to report abuse?” (23)
Established in the wake of the brutal murder of Sis. Valerie Forde and her 22-month-old daughter Jahzara, Sistah Space Sistah Space is run by a small team of volunteers and depend on donations to keep their 24-hour service going. Its existence provides real hope for Afrikan women experiencing hostility from without and from within, who otherwise may not report abuse. (24) But it is just one organisation and perhaps more fundamentally, our community needs to assess how (or indeed if) it perceives abuses and ways to address it. Clearly an environment needs to be created that facilitates survivors coming forward, which some assert is a whole community endeavour. Reflecting on the Solo 45 verdict, cultural scientist ShakaRa, himself a product of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement Rites of Passage programme, shared his perspective on the responsibility of men:
“So… Solo45 convicted. It is right to condemn Rape & Rapist. It is right to provide justice and support for the victims. But as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. As men, it is the height of irresponsibility for us to leave the protection of women in our communities, exclusively to the women of our communities. If men rape, then men must be responsible for challenging rape.
Rape is never an individual issue. Its always a collective one. So I hope that this event contributes to inspiring the development of more discussion and social implementation of standards of Manhood that not only challenge rape, but challenges the sexually predatory mentality that leads to rape in the first place.
I hope that this conviction contributes to inspiring the need to raise awareness of Origin HQ, Manhood Academy Global, We are Manhood Academy, @West Side Young Leaders Academy, @Black Fathers Support Group, Mind Over Body Chess Academy and all the other institutions that are catering for men and boys, instilling them with the value, principle and moral code to be productive well-adjusted men, less inclined to become predatory and abusive to women.
I hope that our music culture evaluates itself. And I hope that we are all inspired to support artists and people with our Black Music Culture who create art and build institutions that challenge the hyper-sexualisation of our mentalities.
May we all heal. May we all learn the lessons… Ase!” (25)
To heal, there needs to be an acknowledgement of an ailment. The challenge facing many of us is whether we see domestic abuse as a collective ailment or simply a matter for those directly involved.
(1) Bill Chappell (11/03/20) Coronavirus: COVID-19 Is Now Officially A Pandemic, WHO Says. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/11/814474930/coronavirus-covid-19-is-now-officially-a-pandemic-who-says
(2) Robert Roos (24/01/13) Study puts global 2009 pandemic H1N1 infection rate at 24%. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/01/study-puts-global-2009-pandemic-h1n1-infection-rate-24
(3) Worldometer (14/03/20) Coronavirus Cases. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
(4) Clare Sibthorpe (14/03/20) Coronavirus: Why are people panic buying and why toilet paper? https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-why-are-people-panic-buying-and-why-toilet-paper-11952397; BBC News (15/03/20) Coronavirus: Supermarkets ask shoppers to be ‘considerate’ and stop panic buying. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51883440
(5) BBC News (07/03/20) Ilford murder: Man stabbed to death outside nightclub. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51784194?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ce73e14rlz3t/london-violence&link_location=live-reporting-story
(6) BBC News (09/03/20) Croydon bus fatal stabbing: Damani Mauge named as victim. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51808596?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ce73e14rlz3t/london-violence&link_location=live-reporting-story
(7) BBC News (12/03/20) Walthamstow stabbings: Four hurt and seven arrested. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51846429?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ce73e14rlz3t/london-violence&link_location=live-reporting-story
(8) BBC News (10/03/20) Tottenham stabbing: Man jailed for murdering teen in trainer rowhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51823059?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ce73e14rlz3t/london-violence&link_location=live-reporting-story; BBC News (10/03/20) Brixton stabbing: Boy, 17, guilty of Soloman Small murder. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51822318?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ce73e14rlz3t/london-violence&link_location=live-reporting-story
(9) Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement (15/04/19) How can we get to grips with youth violence? https://www.alkebulan.org/2019/04/15/afrika-speaks-with-alkebu-lan-on-galaxy-radio-150419-how-can-we-get-to-grips-with-youth-violence/; https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/how-can-we-get-to-grips-with-youth-violence-150419/.
(10) Thomas Mackintosh and Steve Swann (13/09/19) Domestic violence killings reach five-year high. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49459674.
(11) Ibid.
(12) Emily Pennink (21/12/19) Former boyfriend of pregnant Croydon mum Kelly Mary Fauvrelle denies murder
(13) Steven Morris (11/03/20) Grime artist Solo 45 found guilty of raping four women. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/11/grime-artist-solo-45-found-guilty-of-raping-four-women
(14) Lizzie Dearden (25/04/19) Only 1.7% of reported rapes prosecuted in England and Wales, new figures show. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rape-prosecution-england-wales-victims-court-cps-police-a8885961.html
(15) Emma Flanagan (12/03/20) Annie Mac calls out music industry misogyny as Solo 45 found guilty of 30 sexual offences. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/annie-mac-solo-45-twitter-3942148
(16) Estelle Catherine Munro (2014) A study of domestic violence and the African-Caribbean community in Preston and surrounding areas. Diffusion: the UCLan Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume 7 Issue 2.
(17) Joe Roberts (27/02/20) Black women scared to report domestic abuse in case Home Office deports them. https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/27/black-women-scared-report-domestic-abuse-case-home-office-deports-12313855/?ito=cbshare?ito=cbshare
(18) Ibid.
(19) Faye Brown (11/02/20) Dad who moved to UK as child and served two years for burglary deported to Jamaica. https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/11/dad-moved-uk-child-served-two-years-burglary-deported-jamaica-12222159/; Kevin Rawlinson (12/11/18) Windrush: 11 people wrongly deported from UK have died – Javid. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/12/windrush-11-people-wrongly-deported-from-uk-have-died-sajid-javid
(20) Patrick Greenfield (31/05/19) Sajid Javid accused of ‘human fly-tipping’ in Shamima Begum case. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/31/sajid-javid-accused-shamima-begum-case-syria
(21) CJ McKinney (07/02/20) Shamima Begum loses statelessness argument against citizenship deprivation. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/shamima-begum-loses-statelessness-argument-against-citizenship-deprivation/
(22) Andrew Woodcock (17/02/20) Downing St refuses to say if Boris Johnson agrees with adviser who suggested black people are mentally inferior and backed compulsory contraception. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-andrew-sabisky-eugenics-contraception-dominic-cummings-downing-street-a9339296.html.
(23) Roberts. Op. cit.
(24) Roberts. Op. cit.
(25) ShakaRa (12/03/20) So… Solo45 convicted. https://www.facebook.com/ShakaRaSpeaks/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARDGSG9cUTieJ0iIOfWjKLXZcbXXGCOYwpRjhwEDnEBYMM-qZeCZB8ietYrGsdJQ8D-L7m45Rbj8nS9W&hc_ref=ARSrvnZ_XNGR7Fcv3CDYPzF8VncJaY6hARkzSHvMrPVPyYpQuDW-C55Z_XCTzPQPMYg&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARCiPQMsNh5cZH_5nNmQ1DW7bOhFQVctC7RJtqVL73Qk7kyt08UU1tPjtXwnppbMhinxO7w2xV92dGzEG94qHPBUYDWqgi6pwZrH4zke-5AMnECsvh1Li3i2tbqgaKr1zodHl61VEQifU138aWBYrq8vwRvWPVG90o9yD78MmLpV7h00ctff0CBxW_deu63Xbr-goB4Pa8AaVYBsv2GrmpTdIQO1jPbyMdS5rGtWVNkGUuSDHc2tjihw2FCl3zyMlIami_dLA2eP5Gmr53ryX53421uE5cQL01Rv3hL5cJdxa8jdYMb7VXlXTfh1vKtqbCSMzySJAY2O_k7QX4I
We ask the question:
Domestic Abuse: is it a collective issue?
1) Does the domestic abuse too often get masked under other issues?
4) Does the “hostile environment” really give cover to abusers?
2) What can be done to encourage victims/survivors to come forward?
3) Where does the “systemic misogyny… within rap culture” come from?
5) In what ways is domestic abuse a collective issue?
Our Special Guest:
Sis. Patricia Wharton: has spent over 30 years of her professional career, working with children and families to ensure that they are fully functioning caring and providing the emotional and social support that they need. She is a qualified Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA). Sis. Patricia is a freelance Parenting Practitioner offering Parenting Seminars workshops and courses, including running programmes in prison. She also offers talking sessions to young people at risk of Social Exclusions, Exclusion from school, self-harming depression, school refusers amongst other challenges. Sis. Patricia is the presenter for ‘The Let’s Talk Show’ Chalkhill Community Radio Station.g/