The Guardian interviewed Tanya Sharpe about rising murder rates among Black women and girls in the US

The Guardian spoke to Associate Professor Tanya Sharpe about rising murder rates among Black women and girls in the United States after the FBI reported that at least four Black women and girls were murdered each day in 2020 in the US — a significant increase from the year before.

The Guardian reports:

There needs to be a “fundamental paradigm shift” towards addressing violence “as a public health issue”, said Tanya Sharpe, the director of the Centre for Research & Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims at the University of Toronto.

Acknowledging the way violence can spread in communities like a virus, and intervening in more comprehensive ways, could help people who want to reduce the killings “gain some traction”, she said.

Sharpe is the founder and director of the Centre for Research & Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims (The CRIB), a multidisciplinary initiative designed to advance research, policy and practice for and with Black survivors of homicide victims throughout our global community. Her work has included the development of culturally appropriate interventions and best practices designed to assist African-American survivors of homicide victims in the management of their grief and bereavement. Sharpe also currently holds the Endowed Chair in Social Work in the Global Community at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

> Click here to read the full story in The Guardian

Related:

• The Toronto Star interviews Tanya Sharpe about Statistics Canada’s 2019 homicide report, which collects race-based data for the first time
• CBC’s Metro Morning speaks to Tanya Sharpe about Trump’s comments on white supremacy
• U of T News story on COVID-19 hurdles to overcome in the year ahead features research and insight from Carmen Logie and Tanya Sharpe