The Imperative of Racial Justice
As we grow and share calendula medicine for gender-based violence, we hold close the simultaneous need to address the root illnesses of racism and colonialism which continue to harm to Black, Brown, and Indigenous people of all genders. We recognize that no medicine offering which ignores the harms of racism will suffice for our collective healing.
Invisible Black Women:
The Sex Abuse to Prison Pipeline
One of the most prevailing issues with sexual assault in the African American community are 1) the high frequency of sexual assault on young women of color and 2) the absence of adequate resources to deal with the sexual assault of young women of color. In 2012, Rights 4 Girls, a social justice reform organization released a report entitled “The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girl’s Story." Within this report, researchers found an intrinsic link between the incarceration of young women of color and sexual assault. For example, in a study done on the Oregon justice system, seventy-six percent of the young women were survivors of sexual abuse by the age of 13. This same trend held in South Carolina, with over eighty- one percent of girls reporting a history of sexual violence.
Numerous studies have found that there is a lack of resources available for young girls in the juvenile justice system that address the physical and psychological scars of sexual assault. This is further exacerbated when acknowledging the unique cultural nuances of girls of color. What’s more, Rights 4 Girls’ study found that many of the young women who are in juvenile detention facilities are there because of behaviors or actions stemming from the untreated emotional ramifications of their abuse. This means that their prior abuse-related trauma is unaddressed and, worse still, leaves them vulnerable to further abuse. This system is referred to as the Sex Abuse to Prison Pipeline.
For women of color, reporting crimes of sexual assault are rooted in relationships to institutions of power and commitments to community that are historically and currently racist and sexist.
The statistics on U.S. women and violence are staggering. On average, one in three women are victims of intimate partner violence and one in five women are victims of sexual assault. These numbers underscore the epidemic of sexual violence in the U.S., which disproportionately impact women of color, immigrant women, LGBTQIA+ women, and disabled women.
For African American women, sexual assault and violence are incredibly pervasive issues that routinely go unreported and under-addressed. Over eighteen percent of African American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. And, unfortunately, this percentage only accounts for the number of women who report their abuse. In order to address the issue of sexual violence against Black women, it is imperative that we look at the unique barriers faced by African American women on a political, economic, and cultural level.
Support and Help Fund Organizations That Focus on Black Women.
As we expressed earlier, there are a number of organizations that specifically focus on sexual violence and harassment in the Black community, however many of these organizations are not well-known or are underfunded. Below are a few organizations where you can donate both your time and money:
* please note, trans women of color face both sexual and physical violence at an alarmingly high rate.
Educate Yourself.
We can’t help unless we understand. One of the most important things any activist can do is educate themselves on issues of sexual violence for Black women past, present, and future. Here are a few to begin with:
Books
Farming While Black (by Leah Penniman)
The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities (edited by Ching-In Chen, Jai Dulani, and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha)
Turn This World Inside Out: The Emeregence of Nurturance Culture (by Nora Samaran)
Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement (edited by Ejeris Dixon, and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha)
Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology (by Incite)
Sister Outsider (by Audre Lorde)
Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color (by Andrea Ritchie)
But Some Of Us Are Brave (by Akasha Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara Smith)
Crunk Feminist Collection (by Brittney Cooper, Susana M. Morris, and Robin M. Boylorn)
At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance (by Danielle McGuire)
Unbought and Unbossed (by Shirley Chisholm)
Women, Race, and Class (by Angela Y. Davis)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (by Harriet Ann Jacobs)
Recovering the Sacred (by Winona LaDuke)
Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals (by Alexis Pauline Gumbs)
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz)
An African American and Latinx History of the United States (by Paul Ortiz)
Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change (by Sherri Mitchell)
Whereas (by Layli Long Soldier)
Climbing Poetree (by Naima Penniman and Alixia Garcia)
Links
BIPOC Community Garden Network started by Mandana Vasseghi-Boushee
Rootwork Herbals (Herbalists Amanda David and Mandana Vasseghi-Bouchee offer Woke Without the Work, an online class for non-BIPOC herbalists)
Dawnland (movie)
Is Justice on the Horizon for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People?
Are there other organizations that you think belong on this list? Please reach out to us with a link.