Washington D.C. police have increased their social media efforts to raise awareness around missing black and Latinx girls in the area, after 10 black girls disappeared over the course of the last week. The call for the public's assistance comes in light of concerns that the issue has gone relatively unreported by the media and hasn't been treated with urgency by local officials.
According to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, there are 38 total open missing person cases in the area. Local church members, parents, and activists recently held a meeting to discuss sex trafficking in the area with hopes to to investigate as a community, according to WUSA9.
D.C Police Youth and Family Services Division commander Chanel Dickerson said in an interview that the phenomenon is not new, and that press and social media have brought the issue to national attention.
"A large number of our cases are runaways and I am concerned because while they are missing, they’re without parental guidance, absent from school, and at risk of victimization," Dickerson added.
The disparity in coverage in missing persons of color has sparked national outrage on social media. Black members of Congress also sent a letter asking the Justice Department and FBI for help locating the missing girls on Tuesday, calling to “devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed.”
Thumbnail credit: Missing Pieces Network