Shining a light on the crisis of missing or murdered Black women and girls in the United States

By Linda A. Seabrook, Senior Counsel for Racial Justice & Equity

The United States faces a deeply troubling crisis that has not received the attention it deserves—the alarming number of missing or murdered Black women and girls. Despite the devastating impacts on families and communities throughout the country, the epidemic of missing or murdered Black women and girls has largely remained a silent one. It is time to confront this issue with the urgency and coordinated response it warrants.

On November 12, 2024, the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs held a national convening in Washington, D.C., focused on addressing the crisis of missing or murdered Black women and girls. The event brought together family members, survivors, law enforcement, advocates, journalists, and state leaders, along with federal agency colleagues, to raise awareness of the issue, inform potential future programming and resources, learn from state efforts, and encourage a more robust response to missing and murdered Black women and girls.

The Scale of the Crisis

Black women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence, trafficking, and systemic neglect, leading to high rates of their disappearance, and placing them at greater risk for homicide. Although they make up a significant portion of missing person cases in the U.S., their stories often go underreported and unnoticed by national media and law enforcement. According to the National Crime Information Center, in 2022, of the 271,493 girls and women reported missing, 97,924, or over 36 percent, were Black, despite the fact that Black women and girls comprised only 14 percent of the U.S. female population at the time.

In addition, according to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed general medical journal  The Lancet, Black women are six times more likely to be murdered than their white peers. These stark and tragic statistics reveal and underscore systemic issues of bias, neglect, and a lack of resources that hinder effective responses to this crisis.

Raising Awareness & Supporting Programming

Raising public awareness is a critical first step in addressing this epidemic. Media outlets play a pivotal role in shaping narratives and mobilizing public interest. Too often, cases involving Black women and girls do not receive the same level of attention as those involving white victims. Missing Black women and girls rarely make the evening news or become a household name with nightly national coverage.

News organizations can play a pivotal role in combating this imbalance, building on the leadership of many Black journalists who have advocated to tell the stories of missing and murdered Black people through their news organizations or platforms. In addition, partnerships between media organizations and alert systems can help ensure that missing Black women and girls are highlighted more prominently and consistently.

Augmenting investments in platforms that amplify the voices of families, and organizations and advocates fighting for justice, can create the momentum needed to equalize awareness of missing Black women and girls and drive necessary policy change to better respond to this crisis.

Learning from State Efforts

Several states have initiated programs that could serve as models for broader approaches throughout the nation. For instance, some state governments and law enforcement agencies have established dedicated task forces or units focused on addressing missing women and girls of color. These task forces often work in collaboration with community organizations and advocacy groups to bridge trust gaps, improve case management, inform investigative efforts, and facilitate better communication with affected families.

Understanding the successes and challenges of these state initiatives can provide valuable lessons for shaping comprehensive solutions. Sharing best practices, such as data-driven investigations, community engagement and outreach strategies, standard protocols for investigating reports of missing persons, and referrals to culturally specific services and assistance for survivors and families, can help improve responses across jurisdictions.

The Need for a More Robust Federal Response

While state and local initiatives are commendable, a nationwide epidemic calls for a national response. A robust federal strategy could include enhanced resources for the development of law enforcement training, community outreach and awareness campaigns, and support for culturally specific victim services. Improved data collection efforts and focused research on the root causes of the vulnerabilities of Black women and girls that may lead to disproportionate levels of violence could inform prevention programming and improve responses that enhance public safety for all.

Moving Forward

Addressing the epidemic of missing or murdered Black women and girls requires collective action from all sectors of society. By raising awareness, investing in programs, supporting culturally specific services, and developing a more coordinated response, we can begin to turn the tide on this silent crisis. Every report of a missing Black woman or girl represents a person—a mother, daughter, grandmother, niece, sister, or friend—whose life and story deserve recognition and justice.

For far too long we have allowed systemic and societal failures to disproportionately impact Black communities, leaving them particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse – law enforcement that is too often unresponsive when Black women say they are victims or when Black families report their loved ones as missing; schools that punish the little Black girl who is “acting out,” in class, instead of recognizing her unspoken cries for help; child welfare agencies that too often break apart Black families and funnel Black children into the foster care system; and a society that both consciously and unconsciously sexualizes and adultifies Black girls, refusing to see them as innocent and worthy of protection. We can address and remedy these failures so that that the next Black girl who needs help, the next Black woman who faces violence, is seen, heard, believed, and protected.

Let us commit to being the change that brings their stories to light and propels meaningful action to end this crisis.