By Marian Geiger, Program Intern
Racism and Sexual Violence
Sexual violence has been historically weaponized against Black communities as a tool of racist oppression. In order to incorporate racial justice approaches to prevention and response efforts, advocates must recognize how racism and sexual violence are intertwined. According to the ACLU, “about 22 percent of Black women in the United States have experienced rape. Forty percent will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime….A 2015 survey of Black trans and non-binary individuals found that 53 percent have experienced sexual violence, and 56 percent have experienced domestic violence” (Finoh, M. & Sankofa, J., 2019). Without incorporating anti-racist approaches to sexual violence prevention and response, those who are vulnerable to systemic violence will continue to be denied healing and support.
Police and Violence Against Women of Color
Police sexual violence against women of color has been cited as the most underreported form of police misconduct. In most police departments, police sexual violence reports go through the department itself without external review (Corley, 2017). This leaves women unable to seek redress. Women of color, especially Black women, are among the highest risk of being killed by a police officer in response to a domestic violence call. While domestic violence calls represent most police calls, police are often not equipped to safely de-escalate crises and support the needs of survivors (Jeltsen, 2020). In order to center Black women, trans and nonbinary people, advocates must address sexual violence by law enforcement, the criminalization of Black bodies and hold those in power accountable for their actions (Ritchie, 2019).
A 2019 study documents the structural influences that discourage Black women from reporting violence to police. Findings suggest that gender and race inequities are evident at structural and community levels. Structural influences include police misconduct, power disparities, fear of harm by police, IPV and victim blaming. Community influences include discouraging police contact. The study used an intersectional framework of analysis to understand Black women’s unique positionality when reporting IPV and SV incidents. Future directions include addressing racial inequity in the justice system, gender and racial justice in health outcomes and alternative approaches to justice (Decker, M. R., Holliday, C. N., Hameeduddin Z., Shah, R., Miller, J., Dantzler, J. & Goodmark, L., 2019).
(In)visibility of Race in Prevention Programming and Policy
Prevention and response advocates are calling for an intersectional approach to prevention and response that decenters whiteness. Current bystander intervention programming at predominantly white institutions largely excludes the intersections of race and gender bias, disadvantaging students of color (NYSCASA, 2017). By not discussing how racism, sexism and poverty have historically disenfranchised Black communities, students do not feel empowered to intervene. Bystander intervention programming must be socioculturally relevant to include discussions of consent on the interpersonal level and how oppression acts as a means of coercion (Tedx Talks, 2017).
The invisibility of race in sexual assault policy leaves Black girls hypersexualized because of their gender and criminalized because of their race. These biases create barriers to disclosure including self-blame, fear of not being believed, internalized oppression, generational abuse, and lack of diversity (NYSCASA, n.d.). Sexual assault policy and self-defense laws often further disenfranchise Black women and communities of color by denying them agency over their own bodies; “while self-defense laws are interpreted generously when applied to white men who feel threatened by men of color, they are applied very narrowly to women and gender non-conforming people, and particularly women and gender non-conforming people of color trying to protect themselves in domestic violence and sexual assault cases” (Kaba, 2019). Approaches to prevention programming and policy that exclude the intersections of race and gender risk contributing to systems of oppression that deny healing for survivors. According to Wooten (2017), “the framework being deployed remains deeply committed to a race-neutral approach to policy and programming development, where ‘victims’ and ‘survivors’ are never contextualized regarding salient legal and sociocultural histories between different racial groups of women within the USA” (Wooten, 2017, p. 406).
How to Bring Anti-Oppression Work to Sexual Violence Prevention and Response
Women of color advocates have led anti-oppression sexual violence prevention work for decades. For advocates to appropriately address women of color survivors, organizations must implement anti-oppression modalities into their programming. This includes having an understanding of cultural and historical trauma and culturally specific approaches. It also includes considerations of harmful stereotypes and how such stereotypes serve as barriers to care. The practices of cultural humility, self-awareness, suspending judgment and having compassion are key to creating safe spaces and survivor centered approaches (NYSCASA, n.d.).
References
Corley, C. (2017, November 5). ‘Invisible No More’ Examines Police Violence Against Minority Women. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2017/11/05/561931899/invisible-no-more-examines-police-violence-against-minority-women
Decker, M. R., Holliday, C. N., Hameeduddin, Z., Shah, R., Miller, J., Dantzler, J., & Goodmark, L. (2019). “You Do Not Think of Me as a Human Being”: Race and Gender Inequities Intersect to Discourage Police Reporting of Violence against Women. Journal of Urban Health, 96(5), 772–783. https://doi-org.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/10.1007/s11524-019-00359-z
Finoh, M. & Sankofa, J. (2019, January 28). The legal system has failed black girls, women, and non-binary survivors of violence. ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/legal-system-has-failed-black-girls-women-and-non
Jeltsen, M. (2020, June 5). Don’t use domestic violence victims to derail police reform. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/domestic-violence-defund-police_n_5eda8fe1c5b692d897d2de13
Kaba, M. (2019, January 3). Black women punished for self-defense must be freed from their cages. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/03/cyntoia-brown-marissa-alexander-black-women-self-defense-prison
NYSCASA. (2017, August 23). Bystander intervention through an intersectional lens [Video]. New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault. https://www.nyscasa.org/portfolio_page/bystander-intervention-through-an-intersectional-lens/
NYSCASA. (n.d.) Our story our truth women of color sexual assault survivors [Video]. New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault. https://www.nyscasa.org/portfolio_page/webinar-our-story-our-truth-women-of-color-sexual-assault-survivorship/
Ritchie, A. (2019). Expanding Our Frame: Deepening Our Demands for Safety and Healing for Black Survivors of Sexual Violence [PDF FILE]. National Black Justice Institute. https://incite-national.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ritchie-Expanding-Our-Frame-Deepening-our-Demands-for-Safety-and-Healing-for-Black-Survivors-of-Sexual-Violence.pdf
Tedx Talks. (2017, February 13). TedxGuilfordCollege- Chimi Boyd-Keyes Bystander Intervention Education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=171&v=8ZXg9uwLE1w&feature=emb_logo
Wooten, S. C. (2017). Revealing a hidden curriculum of Black women’s erasure in sexual violence prevention policy. Gender & Education, 29(3), 405–417. https://doi-org.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/10.1080/09540253.2016.1225012
