VIOLENCE

The hypersexualization of Black girls dates back to the 1800s, during chattel slavery, wherein girls were commodified and used to perform not only manual labor but also sexual and reproductive labor. Centuries of girls’ not having autonomy over their bodies engraved the systemic practice of sexualizing Black girls and gender-expansive youth in society. As many as 1 in 4 Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18, and nearly 1 in 5 Black women are survivors of rape. For Black LGBTQIA+ and gender-expansive young people, the rates of sexual violence and abuse are even higher.

The sexual abuse that Black girls are exposed to is systemic and often ignored by a society that adultifies, stereotypes, and shames Black girls and genderexpansive youth from speaking up when they do experience sexual violence.

Sexual abuse, harassment, and violence of all forms infringe upon bodily autonomy and are a clear violation of reproductive justice. We sometimes see abortion exceptions for rape in otherwise restricted places - but it’s not truly the right to choose or bodily autonomy if we have to be violated first to enact it.

As youth, we are being forced to live in the post-Roe world, survive the threat of gun violence in schools, and endure violence from our peers and adults.