Screaming in Silence No More: A Toolkit to Address the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls in the United States 

Despite making up only 7% of the U.S. population, Black women account for 20% of all missing persons cases annually.  In fact, recent data from the CDC found that Black women between the ages of 25 and 44 were almost four times more likely to be victims of a homicide than their white counterparts.  

A growing body of research demonstrates that Black women and girls face disproportionate rates of abductions and homicides, yet very little has been done to address the systemic root causes of these inequities. These stark racial disparities in homicide rates among women and girls further corroborate the conceptualization of “Black femicide,” a term coined by Rosalind Page, which underscores that the overrepresentation of Black women and girls in homicide cases is uniquely driven by the intersections of anti-Black racism, sexism, and gender-based violence. In other words, the intentional killings of Black women and girls are motivated by the confluence of gendered racial stereotypes, unequal power dynamics, unfair treatment, and societal norms  

Minnesota was the first state to establish a state Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls in 2023.  In 2023, Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health Tiara Willie collaborated with several partners, including the Brittany Clardy Foundation  and Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), to host a congressional briefing highlighting the root causes of this epidemic and sharing the Minnesota model.   

Now, with support from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, Willie and her team have developed a policy package to help advocates and policymakers establish similar offices in states across the country. This policy package, Screaming in Silence No More, includes a summary of current evidence, summaries of community listening sessions, model state laws and legislation, coalition analysis, and guidance on how to advocate for offices to be developed in your community. 

If you are interested in establishing an Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls in your state, download the materials to get started.