MADISON, WI – Representative Shelia Stubbs introduces LRB-3661/1, seeks to create a task force on Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls. Representative Shelia Stubbs (D-77) released the following statement:
“Today I am introducing legislation that seeks to establish a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls (MMAAWG) Task Force in the Wisconsin State Legislature. There is a clear problem in our state that sees African American women and girls missing and murdered at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts. This task force will bring together legislators, law enforcement officials, representatives from organizations that provide legal services, representatives of organizations that already provide targeted services to African American women and girls such as advocacy and counseling, violence prevention, and victim’s services. The important perspective of each of these key stakeholders will help us formulate a concrete plan to bring an end to these inequitable, violent outcomes. The MMAAWG task force is the first step to protecting and enhancing the lives of our African American women and girls in Wisconsin.
The truth is harrowing, but the fact is: African American women and girls are not safe in our nation, and Wisconsin is not an exception. Across the United States in 2020, the rate of African American femicide was 8/100,000. This is sadly but not shockingly four times the rate of femicide among the white female population. In Wisconsin, the reality is even more disturbing. In our state, African American women and girls are killed at a rate of 20.2/100,000 as of 2020. This rate is extraordinarily higher compared to the national average; demonstrating that there is a clear epidemic of violence that severely impacts our African American women and girls in Wisconsin.
In addition to the high rate of fatality due to homicide, African American women and girls make up an astounding 36% of the total missing women and girls in the United States despite accounting for only 13.9% of the US female population in 2022. There is clear evidence to show that cases of missing African American women and girls consistently receive less attention than those of white women and girls. Frequently, African American women and girls are deemed runaways by law enforcement and their cases are not investigated to the extent necessary. It has also been found that African American women and girls’ cases are covered less and for shorter periods of time on the news. Overall, there is a significant lack of awareness that this issue exists, which leads to inaction and perpetuates a cycle of violence and injustice.
I am first and foremost a legislator seeking equity. My mission has always been to address the harms in our society, the gaps in our systems. We must reform these systems and institutions to build a safer world in which every child and every adult can live, work, play, and thrive. We cannot do this if our communities continue to be torn apart by senseless violence. Michelle Obama, a fellow mother who knows what it means to raise black daughters and worry for their safety every day, said it best when she said:
“Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.”
I demand action to reduce the terrible outcomes that plague our African American women and girls. I seek justice for those families that will never again be able to spend time with their daughter, mother, aunt, sister. This violence is unacceptable. And this violence is completely preventable, but not until we do the work to understand the scope of this issue; to listen to the voices of those who have been so deeply impacted by this injustice. Wisconsinites, I urge you to support the Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Legislative Task Force. We must choose to protect our African American women and girls and this is the necessary first step.”
