The third month of the year is recognised by many as International Women’s Month “as an important reminder for the contributions women have made towards society, culture and history.” (1) However, with its origins in the gender equality/proto-feminist movement, Afrikan women have historically been subject to erasure within the narratives of the observance. (2)
So when Omowale Malcolm X declared: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman,” he not only spoke truth to power about Afrikan women in the USA but also the world. Then and arguably now. (3)
If we take London as an example, the May 2024 headline, Black women in London face higher femicide rates, provides compelling evidence. “Femicide broadly refers to the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender, highlighting the issue of violence targeted specifically at females.” Data from the Metropolitan Police reveals that in 2022, 43% of femicide victims were Black women, despite comprising only 14% of the female population. This figure rose to 62% in 2023. In London alone. By contrast, four of the 21 victims in 2022 were White, along with one of the 13 victims in 2013, while White women make up over half (53%) of London’s female population. In other words, “Black women are more likely to be murdered than any other woman.” (4)
The September 2023 murder of 15-year-old Elianne Andam is a high profile instance gaining national attention. The double murder of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in June 2020 did garner widespread media coverage but this was arguably due the deplorable police handling of the case as much as anything else. The stabbing to death of 42 year-old teacher Gemma Devonish last December as well as others like Cassandra McDermott, Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, Felecia Cadore, Tiffany Regis and Nelly Akomah whose cases have not attracted anywhere near little media attention. There’s credible grounds for the deaths of Blessing Olusegun, Kayon Williams, Taiwo Balogun, and Samaria Ayanle to be investigated as possible Afrofemicide cases but this has yet to happen. Moreover, had Valerie’s Law (named after Valerie Forde), the initiative spearheaded by the charity Sistah Space, that mandates specialist, culturally appropriate training for all police and other government agencies that support black women and girls affected by domestic abuse, been implemented, it could have saved the lives of Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm. (5)
The driving force for this Afrofemicide is said to be intimate partner violence (IPV). Afrikan female victims are three times more likely to be murdered by someone they know. Campaigners indicate that this is a systemic problem fuelled by patriarchy, while others cite reduced empathy towards Black female victims of domestic violence or Afrofemicide (perhaps fuelled by the ‘Angry Black woman’ trope) and the lack of “authentic and open conversations in the home about things like relationships, domestic violence and dealing with rejection” in the home, with social media filling the gap. In the wake of Elianne’s murder, some girls are now querying if they should carry knives for protection. (6)
Activist and author Daniella Maison puts it in a global context:
“Olympian athletes Rebecca Cheptegei, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Muthee Mutua remind us we are unsafe when we ascend. Valerie Forde reminds us we are unsafe when we try to leave. Niani Finlayson reminds us we are unsafe when seeking protection. Each day, we imbibe large quantities of fear and racism that have become our norm. We transmute it deep within our nervous system and generate cortisol. Then, we endure the reports that question why Black women are more likely to suffer with a history of stress-related ailments.” (7)
Campaigners agree that the involvement of the entire community is the only way to tackle Afrofemicide. Rasheda Malcolm, a leading women’s and girls rights campaigner wants more Black men to join the fight against femicide, urging men in the community to:
“Take up the baton and start calling out and correcting their friends and male family members if they are being abusive to women and girls.” (8)
But she also wants mothers to also play their part and help break generational cycles of abuse:
“We often don’t correct their behaviours from an early age and within the home we treat boys and girls differently. We as women need to look at the roles we play with our sons and correcting their behaviour and not putting up with certain comments.” (9)
In addition, activist Donna Murray-Turner is calling for more funding from central government, with more focus on male violence against women, and more education in schools on healthy relationships and consent. Nevertheless it is questionable whether any amount of funding in and of itself will improve police handling of these cases. (10)
Thus the campaigners and activists are calling for a whole community endeavour to tackle this issue. Yet, doing so may require a forensic examination of the collective body politic (such as it is) confronting issues like whether the collective will exists for such an undertaking and if it does, through which structures would it be actioned.
(1) Allison Moses (01/03/25) International Women’s History Month 2025: How it started and why it’s so important. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/womankind/2025/03/01/international-womens-history-month-2025-moving-forward-together/80963696007/
(2) Edna Bonhomme (08/03/21) What is International Women’s Day for Black women? https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/3/8/what-is-international-womens-day-for-black-women
(3) Feminista Jones (07/08/20) Malcolm X Stood Up for Black Women When Few Others Would. https://zora.medium.com/malcolm-x-stood-up-for-black-women-when-few-others-would-68e8b2ea2747.; Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (13/03/23) Are Black women safe in the UK? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/are-black-women-safe-in-the-uk-130323/; World Population Review (2024) Femicide Rates by Country 2024. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/femicide-rates-by-country. Lists nine of the top ten countries for femicides rates as being in Afrika or the Caribbean.
(4) BBC News (28/05/24) Black women in London face higher femicide rates. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0xxgn82yv7o; Staff Writer (30/12/24) Afrofemicide: the silent war on Black women. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/opinion/comment/2024/12/30/afrofemicide-the-silent-war-on-black-women/;
(5) Henry Vaughan (16/01/25) Elianne Andam: Teenager Hassan Sentamu who stabbed 15-year-old to death in Croydon guilty of murder. https://news.sky.com/story/elianne-andam-teenager-who-stabbed-15-year-old-to-death-in-croydon-guilty-of-murder-13288538; Vikram Dodd (06/12/21) Two Met police officers jailed over photos of murdered sisters. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/06/two-met-police-officers-jailed-photos-murdered-sisters-deniz-jaffer-jamie-lewis-nicole-smallman-bibaa-henry ; Tristan Kirk (24/12/24) Boyfriend accused of teacher murder in south London ‘stabbed her 54 times’, court hears. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/teacher-murder-gemma-devonish-carshalton-boyfriend-stabbing-court-b1201709.html; Sinai Fleary (06/08/24) Black women need Black men to help stop femicide ‘crisis’ say campaigners’. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2024/08/06/black-women-need-black-men-to-help-stop-femicide-crisis-say-campaigners/; Staff Writer. O. cit.; Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (25/10/21) Making History Pt. 4: Can we make “VALERIE’S LAW” a reality? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/making-history-pt-4-can-we-make-valeries-law-a-reality-251021/Staff Writer. Op. cit. The deaths of both Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm were preventable. Holm reported a serious assault against her by Carl Cooper, a man known to the Met as a serial perpetrator of high-risk domestic abuse. At the time he was already under investigation for murdering Naomi Black.
(6) Fleary. Op. cit; Staff Writer. Op. cit.; Sonja Jessup (16/01/25) After Elianne’s murder, girls were asking if they needed to carry a knife. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c623mz8184ro
(7) Staff Writer. Op. cit.
(8) Fleary. Op. cit.
(9) Ibid
(10) Jessop. Op. cit.
Are Black women safe in the UK? Pt. 2
1) What is the role of men in challenging Afrofemicide?
2) Should women arm themselves for protection?
3) Are our child rearing practices play a role in facilitating Afrofemicide? Have they been replaced by social media?
4) Do we have the collective will or structures address this head on?
Our Special Guest:
Sis. Donna Murray-Turner: is an Equity Consultant with a decades worth experience working with institutions within the criminal justice system. She is also a credible VAWG/DASV practitioner and is currently a student at London Metropolitan University where she is studying an MA in Women & Child Abuse Studies. Sis. Donna is a noted public speaker and host and delivered her first TEDx Talk in 2021 during lockdown. She is a mother of three young adult children and lives in Croydon.
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