sandra bland

In the year since Ferguson, we have been reminded that police misconduct and brutality don't discriminate, at least not based on gender. We know that Black women like Sandra Bland and others before her aren't spared from police violence. Several commentators, including Charles Blow, Lisalyn Jacobs, and Roxane Gay, have authored profound pieces about Black women's experiences and the cloak of invisibility that too often surrounds them, mainly when the discussion turns to violence, police misconduct, and holding law enforcement accountable.

Fortunately, that is changing. #SayHerName has elevated and honored Black women's experiences, and the dynamic #BlackLivesMatter social justice movement has broadened the conversation to highlight the many ways in which all Black people are affected by violence, police misconduct, and injustice.

But the lens must expand even further. When we speak of the reality of Black women's lives and efforts to reform the criminal justice system, we must continue to also speak about gender bias in policing and how it results in improper, and often illegal, police responses to domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

The reality is domestic violence-related calls constitute the single largest category of calls received by the police. Over one million women are sexually assaulted each year, and more than a third of women are subjected to rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. And have no doubt: Black women and other women of color are disproportionately impacted.

Here are just a handful of stories about police misconduct in domestic violence and sexual assault cases that acknowledge the experiences of women at the intersection of racial and gender-biased policing:

There are countless stories like these and even more that are untold or forgotten. These types of discriminatory police practices - abuses committed by officers, refusal to enforce established laws, misclassification or dismissal of domestic violence or sexual assault complaints - are deeply harmful and violate victims' civil rights. They jeopardize women's lives and safety, undermine efforts to end domestic violence and sexual assault, reduce confidence in the criminal justice system, and further the perpetuation of violence by discouraging victims from coming forward and allowing abusers to continue to commit crimes with impunity.

In spite of these troubling patterns, systemic discrimination by law enforcement is receiving attention due to the critical dialogue sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement. Indeed, The U.S. Department of Justice has highlighted and investigated gender-biased policing. And just last month, the ACLU took the lead in drafting a letter signed by 88 national organizations and 98 state and local groups asking the DOJ to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies about how to ensure that their policies and practices are free of gender bias. These harmful and violative practices will not disappear on their own. We hope the DOJ will act soon.

Until then, we will keep fighting.