New Met police data has confirmed what many have grown to fear over recent years, that Black women in London are facing a "crisis", with higher rates of femicide than any other ethnic groups. Femicide refers to the killing of a female, particularly by a male, on account of her gender. A series of brutal murders, including the killings of Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, Elianne Andam, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, have left the capital a bleeker place. And while anti-female violence has left its stain on every community around the country, the mounting list of black women has been both disproportionate and disproportionately reported on.

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Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, 31, was returning from a shopping trip in Central London when she was attacked from behind by a random attacker. The attacker was 34-year old Mohamed Nur, who was armed with a makeshift blade which he used to cut her throat in broad daylight in Brixton in May of last year. Dogbey’s grieving sister said, "What words can I use to describe how broken I am?" before explaining how she continuously relives the horrors of that day. Her killer was recently sentenced to life behind bars, but what is being done to stop the next horrific attack?

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Figures show that of the 21 femicide victims recorded in 2022, 43% were black. By contrast, 4 of the 21 victims the same year were white. These figures are even more disproportionate when you consider that white women make up over half (53%) of London’s female population, whilst black women make up a much smaller 14%.

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Those figures rose in 2023 to 62% of femicide victims in London being black women. Southall Black Sisters, an organisation dedicated to highlighting and resisting all forms of violence against women and girls since 1979, said that while the findings were “really shocking,” they did not come as a surprise. One of their representative Selma Taha, said:

 “Racism and sexism are deeply entrenched in the UK’s system. At the intersection of race and sex, black women are disproportionately impacted and failed as a result. Black femicide is a form of violence against women and girls that reflects these prejudices, both in the act of violence and in the systemic response to it…

We need politicians and the police to step up.”

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A statement issued by Met Commander Kevin Southworth, who leads Public Protection, stated:

‘We are committed to protecting those who are at risk, regardless of their ethnicity or faith, and understand that communities are affected in different ways. We work with victim-survivors, charities and partners to listen to, transform and improve our response to all victims.”

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A spokesperson for the newly re-elected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said “The Mayor is committed to ensuring that ending the epidemic of violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency both by our police, and society as a whole.”

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Whilst politicians and police alike have made pledges, it’s clear that a real change is needed to protect black women in London and around the country from this mounting threat of violence. 

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