Why are so many Black women dying at the hands of their partners?

Black women are two and a half times more likely to be murdered by men than white women are.

This is a public health crisis

In April alone, at least half a dozen Black women were allegedly killed by their partners, including the high-profile cases of https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/justin-fairfax-murder-suicide-virginia-lt-governor">Cerina Fairfax, estranged wife of the former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax, and https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-mayor-found-dead-home-husband-charged-murder-rcna266432">Nancy Metayer Bowen, vice-mayor of Coral Springs, Florida.

Shaneiqua Elkins survived a shooting by her husband, Shamar Elkins, that wounded her and https://apnews.com/article/shreveport-louisiana-shooting-children-981e69dcfee2361fe81e27199c8b9b05">killed seven of her children and one of their cousins in Shreveport, Louisiana.

These tragedies are shining a light on the killings of Black women and the systems that allow that violence to continue.

Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist