Silence is Harm
Why We’re Taking Action for
Black Women’s Health
A Day of Action led by the Black Women’s Institute for Health (BWIH) to demand equity, accountability, and justice in Ontario’s healthcare system.
BLACK WOMEN ARE DYING IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. THIS HAS TO STOP.
We share these stories around dinner tables, amongst ourselves, whispered into our phones…but we deserve better treatment.
We know our healthcare system is stretched. But even within a pressured system equity still matters!
When Black women speak amongst ourselves about the care and treatment we receive from our medical professionals, we hear the same things over and over again.
“I knew something was wrong but they kept sending me home.”
“They didn’t listen until it was too late.”
“I felt invisible invisible in a system I depend on”
Black Women Have Spoken
Let's Look at the Research
We began to look around and do our research and we did not see any racialized data that spoke to Black women’s experiences in Canadian healthcare. So in 2024, we at BWIH started a process to do what no one has done before, we went across the country and asked Black women how they are doing. We wanted to know how we were doing in our bodies, mind, and spirit. We wanted to uncover the whole picture of our experiences with the healthcare system in Canada.
In November 2025, we launched the Voices Unheard report (the first report of its kind), and what we learned was shocking.
67%
of respondents have felt that their health concerns were dismissed or not taken seriously by a healthcare provider.
42%
have delayed or avoided seeking healthcare due to concerns about how they would be treated as a Black woman
55%
experience emotional exhaustion or burnout occasionally.
It’s not enough to simply know these numbers, or think of them as plain statistics, these numbers result in real harm.
And what does harm look like?
Harm is being sent home without answers.
Harm is waking up every day in pain that was dismissed as nothing.
Harm is time passing and conditions worsening because someone decided your voice was not urgent enough to act on.
Our Voices Unheard report has over 70 recommendations for various levels of governments, institutions, professional bodies, and associations.
We are demanding change, and we need you. Our audience. Our allies. With your strength in numbers, we can make our voices heard. We’ve reached out to our government with the findings in the Voices Unheard report, and we heard nothing in response.
Our Call to Action
Build and Enforce a Black Health Equity Framework
The Government of Ontario must implement a provincial Black Health Equity Framework that holds the healthcare system accountable for how Black women are treated.
This includes mandatory racial equity audits, clear benchmarks, and real consequences when institutions fail to meet them. Equity must be tied to funding, leadership accountability, and system performance.
Invest in Black Led Care and Community Health
The Government of Ontario must invest in Black led, community driven models of care that reflect the realities of Black women’s lives.
This includes funding Black healing and wellness hubs, fully covered culturally grounded mental health care, and building a strong pipeline of Black healthcare professionals through training, mentorship, and leadership opportunities.
Require Race Based Data and Independent Oversight
The Government of Ontario must mandate race disaggregated data collection across the healthcare system and establish independent bodies to enforce accountability.
This includes public reporting, a Black Health Equity Council and Inspectorate with real authority, and Black led Advocacy and Protection Units to support patients and address harm.
Their Silence is Harm.
And here’s what you can do about it.