Black Girls and Women Killed At Rate of 4 Per Day In 2020 As Homicides Increased

By Jamila Bey, BET.com

The FBI and CDC found that Black girls and women were the most often killed among female demographics last year.

According to federal statistics, 2020 marked the largest year-to-year increase in homicides in U.S. history. As Americans grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, murders jumped by 30 percent over the prior year. But the risk of death to Black girls and women is some of the most jarring data uncovered.

The Guardian reported that on each day of 2020, at least four Black women and girls were murdered. The FBI reported that despite the staggering uptick in the number of Black women and girls who were killed, the actual numbers are probably higher than the additional 405 murders they recorded compared with 2019.

Black women face a homicide rate that is three times that of white women. The CDC has been reporting since at least 2017 that Black women face significantly higher rates of homicide than every other female demographic in the US. Homicides of Black women appear to have been increasing even before last year’s murder spike, according to the CDC. Records show that overall Black men and boys at an additional 2,400 deaths over 2019, face the worst numbers of homicides. However, the numbers facing Black women in comparison to similar demographics are nonetheless staggering.

Ori Monroe, an organizer with Black Femicide US and co-founder of Black Women Lead/Black Femme Fund expressed frustration with the high numbers.

“When things get rough, Black women are the first to be harmed,” she said.

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