Name
“I’ll be Your Protector”: Black Girlhood, Child Sexual Abuse, and the Singing Voice
Date & Time
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 12:20 PM - 12:50 PM
Description
Although rarely discussed in the field of music education, United States statistics show that approximately 25 to 35 percent of women and 10 to 20 percent of men have reported an experience with child sexual abuse (CSA) (Weber Johnson, 2009). When race and gender intersect, we find that approximately one in four Black girls experience child sexual abuse during their lifetime (Stone, 2004). Systemic inequities such as poverty, community violence, and historical stigmatization further heighten their vulnerability (Brown, Kwakye, 2012). Moreover, schools in the US, as scholar Monique Morris (2016) highlights, are often sites of trauma for young Black girls, carrying a tradition of harm where they are “routinely silenced, policed, and denigrated” (Yi, 2021). Consequently, Black women teachers and their Black girl students often cross paths in school hallways as survivors of CSA; yet these spaces remain silent about their shared trauma. It is significant then to consider that music programs housed in these institutions can mirror the oppressions entangled within the education system. While testimonies dating back to enslavement in the US reveal that CSA has been a lived experience of many Black girls (Lindsy, 2022; McGuirre, 2010), studies also show that CSA is a global phenomenon impacting countries across the Black Diaspora (Villalba et al., 2020; Kassanjee et al, 2018). With the recent rise in immigration, according to the US Census Bureau (2024), music classes have become diverse spaces filled with migration stories that may include a history with CSA, yet there has been little to no consideration for this trauma in American vocal programs. As opposed to cultivating musical spaces that are sites of refuge (hooks, 1990), some classrooms parallel characteristics of a school to prison pipeline (Dutil, 2020), where victims are less likely to share traumas such as CSA. As a result, this study centers the expertise and narratives of Black women as vocal educators and survivors of CSA to discuss its impact on the singing voice, while capturing their stories of Black girlhood. Informed by Black girlhood studies (Brown, 2013; Evans-Winters, 2005; Morris, 2015) and Black Feminism (hooks, 2000a; Combahee River Collective, 1978; Collins 1990; Smith, 2000), this study works with Black women vocal educators to envision a trauma-informed pedagogy that supports Black girl victims of CSA in vocal programs throughout music education. By doing so, this study aspires to mobilize music education towards change that supports Black women and celebrates Black girls.
Location Name
513E
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
Ashira Mothersil