BWSS joins the African American community and communities across the world in commemorating Juneteenth

BWSS joins the African American community and communities across the world in commemorating Juneteenth by announcing the formation of an advisory committee committed to advancing equity for Black women, girls, and gender-diverse people

A message from the Advisory Committee on Advancing Gender Equity for Black survivors of violence

Juneteenth is a Black English colloquialism written as a contraction of the words June and nineteenth, representing June 19^th, 1865, the date the last enslaved African was freed from chattel slavery in the United States of America. Though originating in the United States, Juneteenth has relevance in Canada by recognizing the presence of descendants of enslaved Africans, people who have immigrated to Canada from the United States and other regions in the Americas. It is also the acknowledgement of the impact of slavery has on the descendants of enslaved Africans across the Americas and the intergenerational trauma and the psychological and physiological effects of trauma while connecting the larger African diaspora.

Canada has not reached gender and racial equity, as an examination of the lives of Black women, girls and gender-diverse people reveals.

As we wrote in the Colour of Violence: Race, Gender, and Anti-Violence Services,  one of the least remarked upon themes in anti-violence work deals with Black women’s and gender-diverse people’s experiences as victims of rape and domestic violence. Black, African, and Caribbean diasporic women and gender-diverse people experiencing gender-based violence must navigate historical, societal, cultural, and familial prompts that sanction and silence us from disclosing their experiences of violence. Black women who experience violence in relationships, including sexual assault, must also confront societal, cultural, and familial cues that silence them from speaking up about their experiences of violence.

Existing Canadian data suggests that the prevalence of intimate partner violence among Black women is disproportionately high (42%) when compared to the total visible minority population (29 %). Yet, disaggregated data on the specific experiences of Black survivors remains sparse, and even more so when accounting for the very different cultural, linguistic, immigration, class, and other backgrounds of Black women.

As Paulette Senior, CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, comments, “When it comes to gender-based violence, the unique needs and experiences of Black women, girls, and Trans and gender-diverse people have been ignored. This has left many stories unheard and have left many abuses unaddressed.”

In the era of Me Too, where Black survivors struggle to have society recognize the ways that we are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence. Additionally, Black women, girls and gender-diverse peoples bear a ‘double burden’ – to either protect ourselves or our partners who were responsible for causing us harm. The possibility of reporting acts of gender-based violence to a system that is embedded in anti-Black racist attitudes is one that gets overlooked, often with deadly consequences for Black women who are left unprotected by the system, by the community and by society at large.

By not prioritizing sexual violence, intimate partner and family violence and other forms of gender discrimination against Black women, girls and gender-diverse peoples, the message that is being sent is clear – that our human rights are secondary, our trauma is inconsequential and that the perpetrators of these harms, including the state, can act with impunity and not be held accountable. This lack of accountability is also evident in the high rates of violence against Black Trans Women.

Commemorating Juneteenth is another opportunity to centre the fact that Black women, girls, and gender-diverse peoples have every right to live lives free from all forms of violence and ensure that the municipal, provincial, and federal governments work diligently to ensure equitable protection.

Since February 2017, BWSS has operated a specialized program for Black Women. On June 19^th, and all year round, BWSS supports Black survivors and acknowledges the political, social, and economic barriers that may prevent Black survivors from seeking support for experiences of intimate partner, domestic and/or sexualized violence.

For more information, please email endingviolence@bwss.org or our website www.bwss.org

Meet the Advisory Committee