Minnesota announced on Monday that it is forming a new task force to examine the high rates of violence against Black women and girls, working to find a solution to the crisis.
Black women and girls are the most likely to be killed by homicide compared to any other racial group. According to a CDC study, they have the highest murder rates per 100,000 women.
Now the state of Minnesota is doing something to combat this issue, and Rep. Ruth Richardson joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Cory Hepola to talk about the new task force and its efforts to protect Black women.
“This is a really complex issue that we’re looking at, and with this task force, we’re really looking at two issues here, missing women and murdered Black women and girls,” Richardson said.
Richardson shared that there is a severe disparity when Black women and girls and indigenous women and girls go missing or are the victims of a homicide.
“There are real differences in the data in terms of outcomes,” Richardson said. “Cases involving Black women and girls stay open four times longer than cases involving white women and girls.”
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Richardson added that their research has shown there is a lack of resources dedicated from not only local law enforcement but also the media.
The representative said that 35% of the missing person cases in the U.S. are Black children while only being a part of 5% of the media references when children go missing.
“What the data tells us is that when Black girls go missing, they are less likely to get an amber alert,” Richardson said. She added that when they are classified as “runaways, you are not going to get the same police response.”
With the formation of the task force, Richardson shared that her efforts have been fueled by personal experiences and working with survivors of those who have been affected and shared their stories.
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Something that Richardson wants the task force to do first is share the stories of survivors and family members of those who did not survive so that people can understand the crisis fully.
The task force has started to meet, and Richardson shared that it is a diverse group with survivors, families of those affected, law enforcement, members from the department of health, and others.
“When we look at this crisis, there are so many challenges that we are facing,” Richardson said. “Not only thinking about children who are missing but delving into the complexities of looking at sex trafficking, thinking about economic exploitation, intimate partner violence, and domestic violence.”
Over the next year, Richardson said that the group will look at putting forth strategies, creating a blueprint to make sure that Black women and girls are protected in the state of Minnesota.
