Black youth could be missing at higher rates because they are more vulnerable to sex trafficking than any other demographic. A 2013 study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center found that a disproportionate number of child sex-trafficking victims are African-American. Young women and girls are at particularly high risk for sex trafficking, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.
“We wanted to understand why there’s such a disparity [in media coverage],” says Natalie Wilson. In 2008 the sisters founded the Black and Missing Foundation, dedicated to spreading awareness of missing African-Americans.
Foster adds that police sometimes discourage families from reporting their loved ones as missing if they call for help within the first 24 hours, even though Illinois law allows missing persons files to be opened immediately.
In recent years, Wilson says, social media has helped cases of missing people of color garner wider attention, though she also notes that since founding Black and Missing, the percentage of missing people of color nationwide has grown from 30 percent of the total to 40 percent. The work of foundations like hers needs help from authorities, the media, and the vigilance of local communities, she argues.
