Childhood Abuse In The Black Community
At an early age Black children are continuously robbed of their innocence. We often forget that children are more likely to be abused in situations that leave them vulnerable — poverty, broken homes, high rates of unemployment, and violence all contribute to a high risk of sexual violence. From the oversexualization of Black girls to promoting toxic masculinity among Black boys, child sexual abuse will continue to greatly impact the Black community until we first hold ourselves accountable and become comfortable having these types of conversations with our children starting at an early age. Research has shown us that 1 in 4 cisgender women and 1 in 6 cisgender men have reported that they’ve been sexually abused as a child.
As someone who has suffered childhood sexual abuse, I know firsthand that education is needed. Growing up in my household there were not many conversations on consent and how to communicate if anyone made you uncomfortable. So after experiencing sexual abuse I didn’t know how to speak up about it or even process what was happening. I knew it was wrong but I was scared to come forward. When talking about sexual violence in the Black community we also have to recognize the fact that the Black church plays a huge role as well. From my experience, my assailant was a member of the church who also abused other young girls. After the church was notified the well-being of young girls was not a priority — they simply said that there would soon be a media storm and we shouldn’t focus on that. The following Sunday, my assailant was allowed back in the church — which added a lot to my trauma and caused me to suffer in silence for over 10 years.
The silence throughout the Black community when it comes to conversations around sexual violence continues to affect everyone when we steer away from hard but necessary conversations. A parent is unable to have conversations around sexual violence and consent with their child if they lack education on the issue and its importance. In the Black community we are told to keep our mouths closed to protect our own, our Black brothers, who are already greatly impacted by the system — one in which was never built to protect us but to only incarcerate us and make a profit from our Black bodies. We fail to realize that protecting our own when it only encompasses Black men, results in young Black children suffering in silence and being left to cope with their trauma. This can result in mental health problems such as, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and anger that further perpetuates the sexual abuse to prison pipeline. Further, this proves the theory of misogynoir that ultimately society doesn’t care about Black women and girls. As stated by Malcolm X, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
Additionally, we can’t ignore instances of sexual abuse experienced by Black boys who are continuously suffering because they can’t be seen as survivors of sexual abuse. Research shows that about 14 percent of victims of child sexual abuse are male and are committed by women. Young Black boys aren’t taught to deny the advances of a woman. They are told to “man up” or that “they should be proud that a woman is attracted to them.” This teaches toxic masculinity and leads to sense of entitlement in the future because men are taught that sex contributes to defining their masculinity, and that they should never deny it. If and when a young Black boy decides to come forward, the Black community would question his sexuality before questioning the actions of his perpetrator.
We continue to hold other perpetrators accountable for their actions, except the ones in our spaces out of fear of being ostracized and trying to “keep another Black person down.” We continue to ignore the suffering of Black children in our community. We fail to make sure that these issues are discussed inside the home and within our schools. We fail to realize that this way of thinking is toxic and adds to rape culture. In protecting our own we must also hold those perpetuating violence within the Black community accountable and use our voices to uplift Black youth and children.
