Report launched during the week another horrifying murder of a Black Woman is reported. On 10 November, 35-year-old Perseverence Ncube was stabbed to death in her home in Salford in front of her two small children. The suspect was reported to be on licence following release from prison and the police have referred the matter for a Domestic Homicide Review.
The report, ‘Life or Death’, highlights how barriers to reporting and failures by police and other services, against a backdrop of intersecting race and sex discrimination have contributed to the tragic deaths of Black and minoritised women. The new research, arising from a collaboration between Imkaan and Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ), is based on 44 case studies of post death investigations from the past 10 years, reviews of data available and the insights of frontline workers from the specialist ‘by and for’* women’s sector.
The research examines the obstacles faced by Black and minoritised women who lose their lives in domestic homicide and suicide in the context of domestic abuse, focusing on the issues they face over and above, and in addition to, the obstacles faced by white women.
It is the first report of its kind that undertakes a deep dive into the issue through an examination of detailed case studies including 38 domestic homicides, six suicides following domestic abuse and two case studies of women who killed their abusive partners.
The report examines the many different ways in which Black and minoritised women can face barriers and state failings when seeking protection from domestic abuse. It highlights that much of the narrative about criminal justice and race is focussed on over policing, with little focus on the experience of victim/survivors which may also be affected by racial stereotyping.
The report identifies many barriers to reporting faced by the women featured in the report including:
Pressures in some communities not to disclose outside of the family
High levels of police racism and fear of reporting as a consequence of mixed loyalties and community pressure
Fear of social services becoming involved leaving such women caught in a double bind between fear of the perpetrator and fear of losing children
Fear experienced by women with insecure immigration status that if they report their information may be shared with immigration enforcement.
It identifies specific failings by the state which can contribute to fatal outcomes including:
Police and other services accepting the perpetrator’s narrative because of his better English
Subjective assessments of credibility of accounts that can be influenced by racist assumptions
Stereotypes, assumptions and tropes that influence the response from police and others
Those with No Recourse to Public Funds may face a stark choice between destitution and returning to an abusive partner
The failure to understand the nature of so called ‘honour based abuse’ can inhibit recognition by authorities of severely heightened risk
Criminalisation of survivors through counter allegations
Failures of GP and health services to pick up domestic abuse indicators.
Similar issues exist in the six case studies of suicide caused by domestic abuse and the two case studies where women survived abuse only because they were driven to kill their abuser.
The report underlines the need for a reversal of funding cuts to the specialist by and for sector and shows how a number of deaths could have been avoided if such services had been available to some of the women in the study.
The report examines the adequacy of the current post death investigatory process and highlights inadequate and inappropriate use of ‘cultural expertise’ in the domestic homicide review process and serious weaknesses in the investigation of policing failures through the IOPC investigation process.
Mary Clarke, Interim Co-Executive Director of Imkaan, stated:
“This report provides an important insight into the stark realities of Black and minoritised women who are subjected to male violence and abuse, and failed by a system that was supposed to protect them because of poor, racist and discriminatory practice.
“The narratives of the women who were killed show clearly how critical access to ‘by and for’ services are for Black and minoritised women. It is vital that we address the systemic failures and gaps in specialist support - otherwise Black and minoritised women will always remain in greater danger of femicide.”
Nour Norris, sister of Khoala Saleem and aunt of Raneem Oudeh, who were murdered by Raneem’s ex-partner outside the family home in Solihull in 2018, stated:
“At the inquest into the deaths of my sister and niece, a jury concluded, multiple police failings contributed to the murders of my niece and sister. There were other state failings including by social services, which I feel should be held accountable. This report highlights how the same themes are repeated again and again in so many of these tragic cases. I hope the recommendations are fully adopted so that other families don’t have to suffer in the way we did.”
Harriet Wistrich, Director of Centre for Women’s Justice, said:
“The report highlights a number of ways in which the state failings may amount to indirect discrimination and be in breach of obligations signed up to in international treaty conventions. We intend to explore further action to challenge such failings and call for all state agencies concerned to consider and implement the recommendations in the report.”
Mary Clarke, Interim Co-Executive Director of Imkaan, added:
“Our data shows that almost all the women who were killed were not receiving support from ‘by and for’ services, even though 71% did disclose abuse to agencies.
“Chantelle, one of the women from our research, had approached the police to report her abuse but they minimised her situation, which resulted in her not reporting to the police again. No action was taken by the police, and she was killed by her partner a few weeks later. Chantelle’s experience is one that we see sadly, time and time again.
“By and for services provide specialist, lifesaving and transformative support for Black & minoritised women and children. Unfortunately, many women cannot obtain support from the ‘by and for’ sector because it is so severely under-funded, and there are some areas of the country that lack any form of specialist support.
“Black and minoritised organisations are five times less likely to obtain statutory funding compared to mainstream organisations.This is reflected in data which shows that only 7.6% of local authorities in England fund Black and minoritised ‘by and for’ VAWG organisations***.
“It is vital that we address the systemic failures and gaps in specialist support.”
ENDS
*See Imkaan definition for ‘by and for’ Black, minoritised women
**Domestic Abuse Commissioner, ‘A Patchwork of Provision’, 2022
***Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Annual Progress Report from the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation National Expert Steering Group 2021-2022, 2023.
The executive summary for the ‘Life or Death’ report can be viewed here
The full ‘Life or Death’ report can be viewed here