United States - Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Rights of Women and Girls of Color (List of Themes) - May 2022
Country: United States
Issues: Gender-Based Violence, Minority Rights, Racial Justice
Mechanism: UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Report Type: List of Issues
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The Advocates for Human Rights, together with the State of Minnesota Missing and Murdered African American Women Task Force and Research in Action, submitted a suggested List of Themes Report on the Rights of Women and Girls of Color in the United States of America for the 107th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
In the United States, somewhere between 64,000 and 75,000 Black girls and women are missing, and Black women die of homicide at twice the rate of the general population of women. In Minnesota, in 2020, 40% of domestic violence victims were Black, while comprising less than 7% of Minnesota's total population. Due to the lack of attention from both law enforcement and the media, Black women have had to bear the burden of addressing violence against Black women and girls and helping victims, families, and communities heal in the process, often with very little resources. Despite legislative advances, there are also significant racial disparities in matters of ensuring culturally specific, safe, and affordable housing,
The Advocates recommends that the Committee pose the following questions to the United States:
• What, if any, culturally- specific support or resources for minorities does the State Party offer, including support for Black women and girls in need of safe housing who are at risk of or are exiting domestic violence or trafficking?
• What measures has the State Party taken to reform discriminatory truancy policies and to address the racial disparities that impact Black girls?
• What culturally specific trainings has the State Party provided to health care professionals. In these trainings, to what extent does the State engage with members of the Black community in developing or leading them?
• What efforts has the State party taken to address the lack of media attention to cases of missing and murdered Black and Native American women and children?
• What efforts has the State Party made to support tribal governments in the development and implementation of Amber Alert programs?
• What steps, if any, is the State party taking to monitor the statistics and reasons behind loss of child custody, disaggregated by race?
