Missing Women and Girls
As we strive to build safer communities, how do we also address the challenges we may face along the way? Our responsibility toward each other renews every day, even before a difficult situation presents itself. Particularly, when these issues concern the safety of our young women and girls, that responsibility is shared.
These conversations often start with the alarming statistic: Since 2014, 64,000 black women have gone missing in the United States.
Yet, for many, the response to these cases has lacked a sense of urgency. The countless ads you’ve seen while waiting in line at the grocery store, even when scrolling through social media, can leave people numb to the issue.
Although when a person goes missing, close to home, we’re faced with confusion, disbelief, and a subtle worry that the safety of our loved ones is at risk.
These are our neighbors. These are our friends and classmates. These are our co-workers. Collectively, the most vulnerable communities face the possibility of losing people at a disproportionate rate. Black Americans make up about 13% of the population yet were nearly 40% of missing persons cases in 2018, according to the Black and Missing Foundation.
Center of Life CEO Tim Smith owes this perpetual increased vulnerability to the persistent economic and racial discrimination experienced within black and brown communities.
“Without having a strong community, without having police protection, without having quality programming [things to do] in the community…then there’s an openness to people being used,” he said.
The steps to addressing vulnerabilities and how people can go missing will always be complex but we can start with more dialogue and awareness concerning our own neighborhoods.
Our everyday commutes to and from work, school, etc. can feel ordinary or mundane. However, studies on the whereabouts of young black women at the time of their disappearance show it is often under those circumstances that people can go missing.
In May 2015, Alexis Jones-Rhodes went missing the day of her graduation ceremony just after leaving her parents’ home. Monique Priester went missing in 2016 after leaving her stepfather’s house; she had also spoken to her mother the same evening.
Although these profiles illustrate that not all missing persons cases are initially tied to heinous acts, the fear of foul play is still present when someone is missing, and we don’t know exactly why or how it happened.
Fortunately, in both Monique and Alexis’ cases, they were later found safe and unharmed.
Additionally, communication played a critical role in each of them and their families. Alexis’s parents were prompt in reporting her missing and Monique told her mother about her plans, although Monique would later be unreachable by phone.
It serves everyone involved to be in contact with each other consistently. Whether it is a mother, sister, or friend, knowing where someone is during the day and what their plans are can make a massive difference if they were to become missing or unreachable for any period of time. Especially if they could be on their own for most of the day.
Things come up. Plans change. We know that new situations arise that make people deviate from their normal routine. Even when someone you know has a daily routine, checking in with them occasionally throughout the day can go a long way.
Here in Pittsburgh, Tonee Turner went missing in late December 2019. She is a beloved member of her community and close to her family and friends. She was last seen at a local tea shop she frequently visited. In Tonee’s case, her family, friends, and co-workers all know it would be out of character for Tonee to go long without contacting them.
In the ongoing search for Tonee, supporters continue to raise awareness locally and on social media for her safe return. Those efforts are especially important for missing black women and girls because of how their stories often lack media attention.
The Philadelphia Tribune reported on a study that showed black children being 35% of missing children cases in the FBI's database, yet only making up 7% of media references in 2015. This disparity in media coverage is why our neighbors and community members' increased vigilance is and has been the best course of action.
We cannot become accustomed to cases of missing women or allow them to be commonplace. Perpetrators are empowered when we’re desensitized. That attitude eventually feeds into a negligent media cycle and in part, allows for an openness to victimization.
Visibility is central to being vigilant for missing women. We can be more conscious of how we communicate with others and serve our neighborhoods. Advocating for missing women doesn’t just begin when they disappear but rather by being accountable before they do.
- Zion Adissem