This story was originally published by The 19th on Sept. 26, 2024.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A march in the nation’s capital this past week drew thousands of crime victims and their loved ones, capturing an often-ignored reality: Women of color bear the brunt of violent crime in the United States. The crowd that gathered near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday consisted of mostly Black women.
Led by the nonprofit Alliance for Safety and Justice, the effort challenges the country’s prevailing “law and order” approach that has historically encouraged harsh criminal sentences and policing. Now, 30 years after the Violence Against Women Act was enacted, participants called for a new victims’ rights movement rooted in crime prevention, rehabilitation, economic mobility and trauma recovery over punitive measures that expand incarceration rates…