We stand in utter condemnation of the murderous violence against girls in Southport and mourn the lives lost and harmed by violence against women and girls in all its forms.
We are further alarmed by and we condemn the instrumentalisation of that violence by racists and fascists on the streets and in the corridors of power. Over the weekend racists set fire to hotels housing vulnerable migrants and since then, there have been reports on plans to attack other hotels and immigration advice centres over the next few days.
These racist riots follow a pattern honed by white supremacists who have weaponised violence against women to whip up hatred against racially minoritised communities. These supremacist tactics are creating a palpable sense of fear, particularly among Black, minoritised and migrant women and children with the least state protections. We cannot stay silent as we watch with alarm and horror the terrifying racist violence sweeping across the country. We are witnessing violent xenophobic, racist, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim attacks reminiscent of the National Front’s attacks on African, Caribbean, and Asian communities in the 1970s and 1980s.
These supremacist tactics have been exacerbated and reinforced by the actions of successive governments, politicians and media professionals pandering to far-right, anti-migrant sentiment while simultaneously failing to challenge institutionally racist practices in the fabric of the state’s machinery. The mainstreaming of right wing demands and a failure to systematically counter violence and discrimination towards racially minoritised communities has resulted in some of the most regressive immigration policies that fall short of internationally recognised human rights standards for migrants and refugees. It is imperative that this new Labour government puts forward a positive narrative that rehumanises and values asylum seekers and migration instead of using these events to step up draconian immigration policies.
Black women’s groups like Southall Black Sisters were forged in a politics of resistance to both racist and patriarchal violence on the streets, in our homes and communities, and by the state. We resist now as we did then. We call on government to hold accountable all those sowing hatred and division. We call on government to step up protections for all minoritised communities in the UK.
Here to stay, here to fight! Our tradition is struggle, not submission!
Signatories –
