LOS ANGELES - Black women made up nearly one-third of all female murder victims in the City of Los Angeles over the past decade despite accounting for less than five percent of the city’s population, according to a new report by the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights). The report, which received its first hearing today in the City Council Committee on Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability, was called for by Council President Pro Tempore Curren Price and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson following the murder of 16-year-old Tioni Theus in 2022.
“Tioni Theus was viciously stolen from her family who are still seeking justice for her murder,” said Councilmember Curren Price. “Tragically, Black and Latina women across our city experience higher rates of violence with little attention to their pain. Today, we say ‘no more.’ This report from the LA Civil Rights department brings needed attention to this crisis and a call for action. Though it cannot bring Tioni back, this report will help us protect more women and girls across Los Angeles.”
“The alarmingly high numbers in this report underscore the urgent need to address gender-based violence. The statistics -- Black women comprise 4.3% of the population and make up to 33% of the victims of female violence -- call for policy that addresses the systemic factors that maintain this climate of violence against Black women,” said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawon.
“I am proud to stand alongside Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson to highlight this data. The recent report released by the LA Civil Rights department is disheartening but even more so, it is a crisis that must be met with urgency and conviction. These acts of egregious violence, underscores how each and every day we should uplift and support the women in our communities. I look forward to working with my colleagues to deploy more direct, mutually-accountable and transparent solutions to further scale up our response to protect the women in this city,” said Councilwoman Heather Hutt.
The 33-page report, written by the LA Civil Rights Department’s Office of Racial Equity using data from the Los Angeles Police Department and LexisNexis, found that Los Angeles neighborhoods with the highest poverty, unemployment, and environmental hazards see higher rates of violence against women. Key findings include:
- Black women accounted for 28.2% of all women reported missing in the city over the last two years and 32.85% of the female homicides over the last decade.
- Hispanic women made up approximately 37% of missing women from the last two years and 42.8% of female homicides over the last decade.
- Mainstream media coverage of Black and Hispanic female victims is covered less frequently and characterized differently than non-Black, non-Hispanic female victims.
- Although overall violent crime rates have decreased in the City of Los Angeles over the last decade, the number of Black and Hispanic women experiencing violence has remained at a steady high, if not increased. The number of Black women murdered in 2022, for example, is the exact same number as in 2011, and increased by more than 38% for Hispanic women over the 2011 number.
- Community-based organizations consistently encounter funding barriers that present significant challenges to continuing long-term holistic services to survivors, and that community programs must be undergirded by policy and legislative action.
“This report confirms what many of us have known for a long time: Black women and Latinas in Los Angeles suffer from a crisis of violence,” said LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox. “We will not let them suffer in silence. This data provides unequivocal proof of this crisis, and strategies for serving our women and girls. You cannot unsee these numbers, and LA Civil Rights is grateful to Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson for giving us the opportunity to bring this issue to light.”
The report also includes recommendations for the City Council, made with direct input from community-based organizations including the Jenesse Center, Peace Over Violence, and Women Against Gun Violence. Recommendations for Council include:
- Invest in prevention programming and support strategies to mitigate risk of violence and decrease incidents of violence against women of color.
- Explore funding allocation to community organizations, where barriers to access such funding programs exist, and how such restrictions and barriers may be removed to ensure the longevity of life-saving programs and resources.
- Improving LAPD’s data collection systems and methodologies, which at present do not reflect crime trends for Angelenos with intersecting identities, such as women of color.
In January 2022, the body of 16-year-old Tioni Theus was found at an on-ramp to the 110 Freeway at Manchester Avenue. The murder of the Black child has still not been solved. Though deeply tragic, Tioni’s story is not unique. Nationally, 2,077 Black women and girls were killed in 2021, a 51% increase over 2019 and the largest jump of any racial or gender group during that period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, the number of unsolved homicides of Black women and girls rose by 89% nationwide.
The Committee voted to continue hearing the report as Councilmembers develop legislative action on the issue. The report will receive a second hearing in the coming weeks before being heard and voted on by the full City Council.