Black women in Indiana are disproportionately impacted by a broad range of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes including maternal and infant mortality, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual violence. At ICADV, we are conducting listening sessions with Black and African American women and girls to understand their experiences, and to take their lead in promoting strategies that can support positive sexual and reproductive health outcomes. In our listening sessions, Black women have expressed a collective distrust of the health care system. Many provided detailed personal accounts of encounters with health care providers that were biased, and at times racist. Indiana Black women physicians, Dr. Susan Moore and Dr. Chaniece Wallace both died in ways that many believe were preventable.
We know that the healthcare system is among many systems where Black women and girls experience racism, but action here is critical because the impacts of discrimination can be deadly. At ICADV, we are remembering, we are mourning, and we are working to create a landscape where Black women are heard, believed, and supported across the lifespan.
Please see the following statement from
The African American Policy Forum and see how you can continue to share your stories on a national stage.
