This past weekend, activists took to the streets in Washington, DC, and New York City to participate in the March for Black Women—an event organized by the Black Women’s Blueprint. This year’s march theme, focused on centering survivors of sexual assault and elevating their voices, was particularly timely given our nation’s current political and social reality. Though white women are often the face of anti-rape and sexual harassment activism, sexual violence is not limited to a specific gender, race, or ethnicity and disproportionately impacts black women. In fact, as Mic notes, “According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 21.2% of black women are raped during their lifetime, compared to 19.3% of women overall.”
Armed with the knowledge that black women are made vulnerable in society in multiple ways, organizers of the marches called for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which was set to expire on September 30. VAWA was first passed in 1994 and ensures protections and funding to help survivors of rape and domestic violence. At the last minute, VAWA was extended—but only because Congress approved a continuing resolution to keep funding the government until December 7. In July, Democrats introduced a proposal to reauthorize VAWA, which is more comprehensive than the current act, including “provisions to help victims of domestic violence and stalking stay in stable housing situations” and expanding gun control laws that restrict gun ownership by people who have dating violence and stalking convictions.
The reauthorization of VAWA is central to the well-being of black women across the country. Farah Tanis, co-founder and executive director of Black Women’s Blueprint, spoke at the New York City march about her experience growing up with domestic abuse. Her mother was a survivor, and at one point, she, her mother, and her siblings were forced to flee their home due to violence at the hands of her father. But because VAWA was not a reality then, her mother had nowhere to get help and subsequently returned home—only to face more abuse.
Though it was a critically important and central topic, sexual violence wasn’t the only form of violence against black women that was addressed at the marches. Marchers called for the removal of Brett Kavanaugh as a potential Supreme Court justice. Additionally, the disproportionate impact of police and state violence against black women was also acknowledged—as was the killing of more than a dozen black trans women in 2018 alone. Both the names of black women killed by police and the names of murdered black trans women killed this year were read aloud during Sunday’s march in New York.
While the country is currently captivated by what is happening with Brett Kavanaugh, this moment offers us the opportunity to speak frankly about sexual violence and how rampant it is in society. While we focus on holding abusers accountable for their actions, we must also realize the disproportionate impact of violence and abuse on black women. When we do the work to address the multiple issues that harm black women and girls, from an intersectional lens, it will have the benefit of helping everyone. Simply put, when we uplift black women and girls, we uplift all people.
Though the march is over, you can follow the conversation on Twitter via the hashtags #MarchforBlackWomen and #M4BW.