With Launch of Statewide Survey, MN Continues to Lead the Nation in Addressing Violence Against Black Women, Girls, and Femmes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MINNEAPOLIS (July 28, 2025) — Black women in Minnesota are three times more likely than white women to be murdered. While only 7 percent of the state population is Black, 40 percent of domestic violence victims are Black women. Starting August 4, community leaders across Minnesota will join the fight to end this violence, distributing a groundbreaking survey specifically for Black women, girls and femmes to shape how state agencies, emergency services, and community organizations serve people impacted by violence.
“In 2023, Minnesota became the first state to create an Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls (MMBWG),” said Dr. Brittany Lewis, Founder and CEO of Research In Action, Minnesota’s leading Black and 2SLGBTQ-owned research firm. “That progress came directly from the expertise and demands of Black women who have been impacted by violence. Their recommendations are the catalysts for real change, and this survey is a critical next step in our work to end the generations-long epidemic of violence against Black women, girls and femmes.”
A partnership of Research in Action, the state MMBWG Office and dozens of volunteers across Minnesota, the Justice in Institutions for Black Women, Girls, and Femmes Survey is the first, statewide, comprehensive survey to ask Black women, girls, and femmes about their experiences with and expectations of state agencies, emergency services, and community organizations that serve people impacted by violence. From August 4 to October 31 the survey will be shared at community events statewide and through local anchor organizations, aiming to gather the insight of at least 600 Black women, girls, and femmes on:
How they perceive their own level of exposure to violence
How much they trust state-funded programs to meet their needs to recover from
or interrupt violenceHow these institutions can change to better serve Black women, girls, and femmes
“When we know more, our institutions can do better,” said Artika Roller, Executive Director at Cornerstone, a Minnesota nonprofit with services for adults and youth who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking or crime. “In 2022, the report from the Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Task Force clearly demonstrated that many of the systems and safety nets designed to support victims of violence are failing or doing further harm to Black women and girls. This survey will gather the targeted and actionable knowledge we need to make changes within those institutions and ensure all Black women, girls and femmes in Minnesota feel safe and supported.”
Once completed this fall, the survey will provide essential information that RIA will utilize to develop a first-of-its-kind assessment tool to better understand how structural and systemic violence impacts Black women, girls, and femmes—and how public systems can be held accountable. Using its innovative Equity in Action model, this work will be done in deep collaboration with local community leaders, partner organizations and a National Action Council of scholars, government officials and directly impacted Black women.
Part of a five-year initiative, this work will create a transformative, replicable and scalable framework for assessing safety, vulnerability, and institutional accountability for Black women, girls and femmes in Minnesota—and potentially nationwide.
Black women, girls and femmes who are 14 years or older and live in Minnesota are invited to participate in this groundbreaking opportunity. To take the survey, eligible participants can attend a community event, go to one of 13 Hennepin County Library locations or submit a request online to Hennepin County Library (regardless of location) to complete a survey online.
Learn more about the initiative and the survey at researchinaction.com/bwgf-justice
Download the full press kit here
Contact: Dr. Brittany Lewis, Founder & CEO, Research in Action
612-205-8063, drbrittanylewis@researchinaction.com