The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade serve as reminders that we cannot ignore the killing of Black Americans and other people of color in America by police. We extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and communities of those lost to racist violence, and we reaffirm our commitment to supporting and uplifting all survivors of violence.
At Between Friends, we have long known that domestic violence is intrinsically linked to all systemic forms of violence, including racism, heterosexism, transphobia, classism, ageism, and ableism. To end domestic violence, we have a duty to speak out about systemic racist violence.
We applaud the courage of our friends at The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence for drawing attention to the relationship between abuses of power on the part of police and domestic violence, noting that “Chicago Police Officers accused of [domestic] abuse during 2000-2016 received 50% more complaints of excessive force than their colleagues.” As The Network also states, the movement against domestic violence has often relied on institutions “that have historically upheld these systems of oppression,” and has sometimes failed Black and other survivors of color in the process.
We join our partners and colleagues in committing to do the work necessary to do better. We are committed to continuing to help survivors seek safety and healing in the ways that they decide they need. We will continue spreading the message that the problem of domestic violence is social and political.