BLM statement

The Faith and VAWG Coalition in solidarity with communities facing police brutality and murder

On the 25th of June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, the Faith and VAWG Coalition published the following statement:

We as the Faith and VAWG Coalition categorically condemn the racist murder of George Floyd and demand that all who were involved in his death be brought to justice. We act in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the United States and the UK who have faced violence and murder in their interactions with the police.

As a Coalition we recognise the importance of intersecting oppression and experiences in how we see and are treated in the world. Faith, race, gender, and sex are some of the multiple identities of all of us and are interlinked. We cannot stand for equality and empowerment of women if we do not call for an end to racism and anti-blackness. We therefore, call on everyone working to end all forms of oppression, particularly in the violence against women and girls sector to act in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and call for an end to structural racism and prejudice, particularly against Black people.

Black and minoritised women find themselves uniquely at the sharp edge of any conflict between their communities and State violence. They are also subjected to gendered racism. Black women specifically experience misogynoir as illustrated by the way Belly Mujinga was attacked and died after being spat on by someone who said they were infected with COVID-19. The police have decided that no further action from them is warranted. Her attacker remains at large.

The toxic mix of structural racism, covid-19 and violence against women and girls must not be underestimated.

We want to say to our Black sisters and brothers; we see you, we hear you and we stand with you.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help