Missing Black Lives: Unveiling Institutional Racism in the UK?
Welcome back to another blog post. Today, we’re delving into the ongoing issue of missing black individuals in the UK and exploring the governments response. It is important to address the serious concerns raised by these disappearances especially in a country that claims to celebrate diversity and claims to protect all citizens. The unsettling reality of missing black individuals raises serious questions.
I would say that’s over the past three years, there has been a significant increase in reports of missing black individuals in the UK. According to BBC analysis, black people made up at least 11% of missing person incidents among the 32 police forces that provided data, despite only accounting for 4% of the population. This is most prevalent in London where, according to the 2021 Census, just over 13% of the population is black. However more than a third - almost 36% - of missing persons incidents recorded by the met police in 2022/2023, where ethnicity was known, were black. Additionally, in the West Midlands, over a fifth of missing persons incidents were recorded as involving black people, despite only 8% of the region's population being black.
Now, I could discuss missing people generally, but as seen above, it’s important to highlight that a large portion of these reports involve black individuals. This raises concerns about the institution responsible for protecting citizens and the issue of institutional racism that is present. As this is a human right blog, I aim to delve into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is crucial in understanding the governments role in relation to its citizens.
So, what exactly is institutional racism, and why is it important to grasp the significance in the context of missing black individuals? Institutional racism refers to the systemic distribution of power resources and opportunities that favour one racial ethnic group over others within an organisation or society. In this case, in the UK, where the majority of the population and positions of power are held by white individuals, this imbalance of power is evident. This disparity is significant because those in influential positions, which are white people, play a key role in shaping policies and responses. This dynamic influences how the government addresses the issue of missing black individuals. Where institutional racism is present especially in the governmental space, it can result in racial bias and obstacles that hinder effective responses to the needs of specific communities, particularly black communities. Families and friends of missing individuals deserve answers and closure and addressing institutional racism is crucial for ensuring justice.
Earlier on, I mentioned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is essentially a document containing fundamental rights that each human is entitled to. Article 3 emphasises the right to life, liberty, and security of persons. This implies the right to be protected from harm and ensure safety and security to all individuals. Human rights are an essential as they protect us and affirm our humanity. It’s crucial for governments to promptly and effectively respond to missing person cases, guaranteeing security, liberty, and the right to life. Unfortunately, this isn’t consistently in the UK and many other countries in my opinion.
Richard Okorogheye, Ebeenzer, Samaria Ayanle, Blessing Olusegun, Daniel Alaby and Amina are a few out of many names of missing black individuals that are either still missing or we’re missing and were found dead and the case was held as not suspicious or inconclusive. This is wrong and it is not fair to the friends and families of these victims and justice must be served.
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~ simi ᥫ᭡
Related articles:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68297062
https://www.missingblackpeople.com