US: The tragic messages the Gabby Petito case sends (Opinion) (Includes video)
CNN – October 07, 2021
Gabby Petito’s tragic case kicked off a national conversation about the lasting spotlight that is often given to missing White people, compared to their non-White counterparts. While Petito’s family should of course be allowed to use everything at their disposal to get to the bottom of exactly what happened to Gabby, we cannot ignore the effects of that same level of access not being extended to the Black and brown, who are just as desperate to find missing loved ones. As a former police captain, it is particularly concerning what message this could be sending to perpetrators: that young people of color are easy targets because few will care to look for them. Combating this perception first begins with recognizing how young girls and boys of color are often labeled as “runaways” when they go missing, although there may be no proof that they left willfully. The categorization deprioritizes their missing status and makes them the responsible party in their own disappearance, rather than a victim. This also results in the use of fewer resources to find them, if any effort is made at all. Lack of effort includes insufficient media exposure.
Also: Endangered Runaways: https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/runaways
Also: Report: Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/estimating-size-and-structure-underground-commercial-sex-economy-eight-major-us-cities/view/full_report
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/07/opinions/tragic-messages-gabby-petito-missing-bipoc-pruitt/index.html