STATEMENT ON THE CASE OF MEGAN WILLIAMS

Thanks, Brownfemipower for bringing this to the fore. As I wrote in reply to this, . Violence against women of Color is a serious problem in society today. Meghan Williams is among many WOC who are victims of hate crime. The victim and her son in the Dunbar Village gender hate crime needs to be acknowleged in the general public as well. The Newark Ladies who were arrested in NY after being assaulted by a bigot deserves our sympathy. The Black woman in Missouri who was the victim of police brutality deserves our sympathy.


WEST VIRGINIA COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WOMEN OF COLOR CAUCUSSTATEMENT ON THE CASE OF MEGAN WILLIAMS
October 1, 2007

We, the Women of Color Caucus of the West Virginia Coalition of DomesticViolence, stand in solidarity with allies and in partnership with TonyaLovelace of the national Women of Color Network from Harrisburg,Pennsylvania, and issue this statement of concern for Megan Williams andoutrage for the crimes committed against her person.

Megan Williams, a resident of Charleston, West Virginia, was a victim ofdomestic and sexual violence as well as a victim of hate crimes based onrace and gender. In addition, Megan is a victim of the criminal justicesystem, of the media and of the community at large, all of whom failed toacknowledge the fullness of her humanity as a woman of color, as a womanwith a disability, and as a young woman who experienced extreme torture,dehumanization and gang rape.

We are concerned that the criminal justice system failed her by bringing hercase of bad checks into the media at the time of Megan’s initial recovery.While she may have some charges of her own to contend with, the timing ofMegan’s public arraignment served only to downplay the violence sheexperienced and diverted attention away from the central issue of hersurviving atrocious crimes perpetrated by offenders in callous disregard forher safety. Many women exposed to violence have criminal histories oftenaccumulated as a result of being connected to an abusive partner. Megan’svictimization must remain central in the media as well as in the systemsthat claim to “serve and protect” her and other victims of violence.

We as women of color and allies in West Virginia identify Megan as asurvivor and as a woman who represents dozens of women of color who aremistreated, mishandled, disrespected and often dehumanized across this stateand across the country. Violence against women of color is often viewedwithin the context of stereotypes held by police officers, attorneys, judgesand even advocates. Women of color may express anger at the scene; may havelittle money; may have several children; and may fulfill every stereotype.But regardless of life circumstances, women of color deserve support,assistance, protection and fairness.

We believe that the crimes committed against Megan are rooted in racism, sexism, and ableism. All women must be, heard, acknowledged and treated withdignity and respect by the criminal justice systems and all other systemsseeking to address violence against women. Violence against women must betaken seriously or there will be more Megans who will suffer at the hands ofothers whose bias-motivated behaviors inflict great harm. As such, we arelooking for accountability for those who hurt her, for due process, and foreach and every person to evaluate themselves and see what each of us can doto make a difference and to see where we may have collectively failed Megan.

We are calling upon each of you to take a stand on gender and raciallymotivated crime. We are calling for legal reform that recognizes theinterplay of hateful gender and racial epithets uttered during thecommission of violent crimes committed against those of protected classes.We are calling for the media to offer fair portrayals of victims and to beresponsible in seeking multiple voices. We are calling for the criminaljustice system as a whole to take violence against women seriously and tohold batterers accountable for their actions. We are calling for advocatesto integrate violence against women of color and other marginalized groupsinto the heart of the work of creating safety in communities around thestate and across the nation. We are calling for men to check male privilegeand engage in the work of ending male violence against women. And finally,we call upon women of color and people of color to stand up, be heard, andoffer support to Megan and her family. With all of us working together, wecan bring the issue of violence against women and hate crimes to theforefront.
We stand in solidarity with Megan Williams and support all efforts thatrespond with justice and accountability to the plight of victims braveenough to reveal their identity and their hope for change.

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For more information regarding this statement, please contact Kenyatta Grantat West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, (304) 965-3552.
*This statement was developed by the West Virginia Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence Women of Color Caucus and allies at the WV Summit onViolence Against Women and was read to conference participants.