Loose Women ’s Judi Love has called on society to open its eyes to the "shocking" misogynoir - sexism towards Black women and girls - that goes on in the UK.
The TV star has made a documentary highlighting the inequalities experienced by Black females, using humour to address the social, political and economic barriers they face compared with their white counterparts.
One statistic shown in the film reveals that 25% more black women get jail sentences than white women for committing the same crime.
Love said: "I’m twice as likely to be excluded from school, twice as likely to be arrested and five times as likely to die in childbirth than a white woman. I want to discover the stories behind these stats."
The former Strictly favourite said it was important that the film was rooted in solid statistics about being Black, female and British.
"We need to put the facts out there, so people can't say, ‘Maybe you're being paranoid. Why'd you believe it?’ Now you can say, ‘Well, there's facts. There's evidence’. They can’t argue with that."
The comedian-turned-presenter, 42, says particular focus is needed to support young Black schoolgirls, who are often stereotyped as "aggressive" or "uncommunicative".
In the film, a group of schoolfriends describe their feelings of low self esteem.
"I was really shocked that they actually felt like this in 2022," Love said.
"It made me quite emotional and want to make sure I have more conversations with my daughters, and young girls in general - you don't want them to face the same thing.”
But she has hope that things can start to improve, saying: "People are working together and trying to find ways that we can bridge a gap and get educated on both sides."
The presenter hopes the film will open a conversation.
"Someone might be at work and it might be a black woman and she might feel like, ‘Right, okay. This is showing stats. I'm not being paranoid. Maybe I can have a conversation with my manager’.
"Or a staff member who's not Black might actually think, ‘Hold on a minute. I'm noticing certain patterns I've seen in the show in my workplace or at college.’ And it can open up a conversation to then make some change."
She also hopes that a broad range of TV viewers will watch in order to be more educated on the subject.
"The question is, what is everybody else willing to do? Not what Black people are willing to do. Because we've been trying to make the change for some years and it doesn't work.
"We're not the head commissioners. We're not the head of the police force. We're not the head of immigration or criminal services. We're not the head of entertainment.
"So really, the question is for the people in those positions who are not Black. What are they going to do?"
*Judi Love: Black, Female and Invisible, Channel 4, Monday, 11.05pm
