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The recent brutal killing of a domestic violence activist by her partner has not only sparked an outpouring of condolences but is also spotlighting statistics surrounding the murders of Black women in domestic situations.
What happened to Kelly Mays?
Kelly Mays, who was known as a staunch advocate for survivors of domestic violence, became a victim of the very scourge she aspired to stop when her longtime domestic partner stabbed her to death at their suburban Detroit apartment on Sunday.
Jimmie Lee Brown – a Detroit rapper whose stage name is “Supa Emcee” – was charged with first-degree murder and faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison for allegedly stabbing Mays at least 17 times.
Mays was a survivor of domestic violence from a different, previous relationship.
Black Femicide
Mays’ death marked the most recent instance of a phenomenon known as femicide, a term defined by Women’s Aid as the murder of women because they are women, though some definitions include any murders of women or girls. Femicide is most commonly used to describe the killings of women by intimate partners and family members. It has also been used to describe gender-related killings in the community.
The term was introduced in the last century to describe gender-related killings of women. It also brings awareness to the impact of inequality and discrimination. This in many ways is the root cause of violence against women.
It is important to understand that most women who are the victims of femicide are likely to be killed by someone closest to them. A woman is killed by her male partner or former partner every four days. According to UN Women, In 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. This includes fathers, mothers, uncles, and brothers. For Black women, those numbers are even worse.
According to the Violence Policy Center, Black women in the U.S. were three times more likely to be murdered in domestic abuse situations and 90% of black female victims know their killers. According to the CDC, domestic violence is one of the leading causes of death for Black women ages 15-35. Black femicide is also a global issue. In 2021, Africa had the second-largest number of female intimate partner and family-related killings, trailing China by just a few hundred deaths.
Other notable and recent cases of Black femicide include Jamea Jonae Harris, who died last year after two men, including the now-former University of Alabama men’s basketball team player Darius Miles, allegedly shot her for refusing their advances.
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