30% of the Murders, 0% of the Urgency: We Know How to Save Black Women, So Why the Silence?

We’ve reported on intimate partner violence, broken down what abuse looks like before it turns deadly, shared guidance for women trying to leave safely, and offered expert advice for supporting loved ones in abusive relationships. Still, after Black women like Dr. Cerina Fairfax and Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen were killed by their partners in April, the headlines faded, and so did much of the public urgency.

Black femicide, or the murder of Black women by their partners, is often discussed as isolated tragedies, but a new column in The Guardian argues that the problem is a broader pattern of failures. That pattern, according to the outlet, is actually a public health failure that leaves Black women vulnerable long before violence turns deadly.

The data should stop people in their tracks. The Guardian points to CDC data revealing that while Black women constitute about 13 percent of the U.S. population, they account for nearly 30 percent of intimate partner homicide victims. In previous coverage, The Root has reported that Black women are 40 percent more likely than others to experience physical violence from a partner, referencing findings from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

As The Guardian notes, many of these tragedies represent “a culmination of months and years of intimate partner violence, threats or the fallout of a contentious breakup; all with no help.” The observation aligns with previous reporting by The Root, following insights from Saran Myers-Martin, a gender-based violence prevention consultant, who said abuse rarely starts with bruises. Instead, it starts with control, coercion, intimidation, isolation and fear.

The column argues that these warning signs often unfold within systems that fail to protect survivors. Black women seeking help often face “stereotyping, disregard and disbelief,” the article notes, with labels like the “aggressive,” “emasculating” or “self-sufficient” outweighing a Black woman’s actual need for help. The result is that women who report often face “hell” when they do report, and others don’t report at all because they fear the same treatment. According to The Guardian, many survivors also report experiencing racism from law enforcement and child service agencies, adding to the difficulty of seeking help.

The outlet also describes a “culture of silence” surrounding intimate partner violence, noting that “intimate partner violence also thrives because of the ways the rest of the Black community … closes ranks to protect and sanitize the image of violent men.” After the death of Cerina Fairfax, for example, much of the public conversation focused on preserving her husband’s reputation rather than confronting the loss of a Black woman’s life.

Black femicide, as The Guardian put it, is not only a public health crisis but an urgent call to confront the systemic failures putting Black women’s lives at risk.