Content warning: this article discusses missing persons cases, death and racism.

Recently, two missing persons cases hit the news. The disappearances and deaths of Sarah Everard, a white 33-year-old and Richard Okorogheye, a black 19-year-old are both incredibly tragic. It is, however, noticeable that Okorogheye’s case received less widespread media attention than Everard’s. Why?

Is it the family’s responsibility to push their story? Does race affect the publicity surrounding missing people cases?

The cases of Everard and Okorogheye

“When comparing Everard’s case to the media attention given to Okorogheye’s case, there is a noticeable difference.”

Everard was abducted whilst walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, on 3 March. On 12 March, the police confirmed that they had found her body in Kent. Her abduction sparked a media frenzy and the uproar of thousands of women who came together to protest in her memory against sexual abuse and violence against women. Undoubtedly, this has become an incredibly high profile case. Although, when comparing this to the media attention given to Okorogheye’s case, there is a noticeable difference.

Okorogheye, a student at the University of Oxford Brookes, left his home in Ladbrooke Grove, West London, around 8.30 pm on Monday 22 March. It was announced on 7 April that his body had been discovered by police in the area surrounding Epping Forest. The media had publicised the disappearance of Richard Okorogheye; however, his case received less overall media attention than Everard’s. This leads to many questions.

“Everard’s disappearance prompted a reflection on the safety of women”

Did Sarah Everard’s case receive more attention because it brought up a different conversation altogether?  Arguably, it sparked a bigger flame. Everard’s disappearance prompted a reflection on the safety of women, but also on the extent of corruption within the police force. It made us consider the fundamental problems within our society. Did this cause Everard’s case to be publicised to a greater degree?

Missing white girl syndrome

Arguably, Richard Okorogheye’s case had less media attention because of his race. When considering other highly publicised missing person cases, it is evident that more media coverage is given to white people. In an article for the NYC news service, Justin Joffe wrote that “a missing person case will get more media coverage if the missing person is an attractive, young white woman”. This is an issue that media analysts refer to as ‘missing white girl syndrome’. It refers to a racial bias in a media that concerns itself more often with the cases of missing white women. Arguably, this term applies to Everard’s case.

” There is clearly a degree of racial bias in the media”

Is ‘missing white girl syndrome’ real? I think it is harsh to suggest the media only awarded her case with attention because of her gender and race. However, there is clearly a degree of racial bias in the media. The representation of white women who go missing in the media is much larger than that of any other social group.

The differences in coverage between white missing children and black children

“Children of colour who disappear are given far less media coverage than their white counterparts”

There have been numerous studies that show that this racial bias is an issue that greatly affects missing people cases. People of colour have had less publicity than white people. A study was done in 2015 which showed 35 percent of missing children in the USA are black, but these cases only accounted for seven percent of the cases covered by the media. This statistic is shocking. There is an overwhelming amount of data that proves that children of colour who disappear are given far less media coverage than their white counterparts.

“The facts suggest that there is a racial bias”

However, arguably other factors influence the publicity of a case. Perhaps, black families are statistically less likely to push for a media frenzy regarding a missing person. Equally, it may be naïve to think this. The facts suggest that there is a racial bias. It cannot be denied that the media offers more coverage to the cases of missing white people than people of colour.

The racial bias in our society

It is wrong to say that cases of missing black people are neglected by the media. Richard Okorogheye’s disappearance received a fairly large amount of publicity. Though, I think that we shouldn’t believe that there is no racial bias. All you need to do is look at the cold hard facts.

This is yet another fundamental issue within our society that has arisen. It isn’t fair that the media favours one race over the other. In light of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, it is shocking that we continue to underrepresent people of colour in the media. Hopefully, the cases of Sarah Everard and Richard Okorogheye can start a conversation about the way our media functions. Perhaps, something good can come out of such tragic events.

Here are some useful websites regarding issues discussed within this article:

Eleanor Down

Featured image courtesy of Duncan Shaffer on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.

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