The Silent Crisis: Why Missing Black Women Are Overlooked in UK Media
When Edna Mmbali Ombakho, a 31-year-old Kenyan MSc student, was reported missing from Wraysbury in Berkshire on 1 February, her case unfolded almost entirely through diaspora Facebook pages, Kenyan news outlets, and social media appeals from worried family members. Weeks later, police confirmed a body found in water in Wraysbury was believed to be hers. To date, coverage of Edna's case remains severely limited, with only two UK publications briefly reporting on her story. It was only after growing outrage on social media over the lack of exposure that her case began to receive any attention at all.
A Stark Contrast in Media Attention
We all remember back in 2021 when Sarah Everard disappeared. Our timelines were filled with photos of her, thousands gathered for her vigil, and the nation stood for hours demanding justice. While this sparked a necessary conversation about women's safety, it also highlighted how little attention is paid to Black women victims. Amidst these repeated incidents, a crucial question emerges: where is the same rage and urgency when it comes to Black women's cases?
Edna's case sits alongside many others that have raised concerns about the lack of urgency and sustained media attention they receive. In September 2020, 21-year-old Blessing Olusegun was found dead on Bexhill beach. Most people had not heard about her case before coming across news of her death on social media. An initial autopsy proved inconclusive before her death was later ruled a drowning, despite her family calling for further investigation.
The Pattern of Neglect
When Joy Morgan, a university student, disappeared in 2018, it took weeks for her story to gain traction in the media. It was only after people aggressively reposted a tweet from then gal-dem editor Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff that media outlets treated the case with some urgency. Another Black woman from London, Karen Cleary, went missing while building a home in Jamaica that same year. Once again, most people only heard that a body had been found and it belonged to her through social media channels.
Around 170,000 people are reported missing in the UK each year. Previous findings show that people from Black and Asian communities are more likely to be missing for longer, less likely to be found by police, and less likely to be recorded as being at risk than white people. The statistics are particularly stark for Black children and adults, revealing systemic failures in how missing persons cases are handled across racial lines.
The 'Perfect Victim' Phenomenon
Society's perception of the perfect missing victim is still shaped by race, gender, and class. The term "missing white woman syndrome," coined by Sherri Parks, reflects how cases involving white women receive disproportionate media attention. Their stories are often framed around their roles as daughters or students, while women of colour are more likely to be portrayed through negative or criminalised narratives such as having abusive boyfriends or being involved in risky behavior.
Media coverage plays a crucial role in missing person cases through spreading appeals, mobilising searches, and bringing forward crucial information. Latoya Dennis of For Black Women UK, an advocacy group for missing Black women, explains that when visibility is lacking, it not only impacts search efforts but can also lead to harmful speculation online. This affected cases such as Taiwo Balogun, where despite her death being ruled non-suspicious, speculation circulated online about possible foul play in the absence of clear updates.
Systemic Change Required
Beyond visibility issues, this disparity serves as a stark reminder of how much (or how little) value society places on Black women's lives. Our lives are not seen as urgent enough to interrupt the news cycle. Addressing this gap will require more than momentary outrage. Newsrooms must start interrogating how they assign value to missing persons cases and commit to covering Black women with the same consistency, urgency, and care afforded to others.
They should also work more closely with families to amplify appeals faster, especially in those critical early hours. This transformation will require greater diversity in editorial decision-making because the person in the newsroom ultimately determines which stories are seen as urgent and worthy of attention. Until these changes are taken seriously, far too many missing Black women's stories will continue coming to light only when it's already too late, perpetuating a cycle of neglect that costs lives and denies justice.
