WEBINAR 4 – 26TH NOVEMBER 2020 – GENDERED VIOLENCE AND ABOLISHING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The recording of the session is available here
Message from the webinar chair molly akhurst
Dear all,
I am so grateful to you all for registering, watching and joining in yesterday’s conversation on prison abolition and gendered violence – I personally found it so very helpful and I hope you all did too. Speaking and thinking about abolition can feel exciting, but it can also involve hard and difficult thinking; and nowhere is that more true than in regards to gendered violence. Yesterday’s conversation attempted to focus in on some of the knottier questions, and tried to speak deeply about abolitionist strategy from a pragmatic standpoint that simultaneously placed survivors safety, needs and wants at the centre. As was mentioned during the discussion, I have created a long list of resources that were mentioned and also alluded to – and I hope you find these useful. If you have any questions for myself or any of the brilliant speakers please don’t hesitate to email vawgrn@mdx.ac.uk who will pass them over to us.
with warmth
molly ackhurst
Recommendations for Organisations and Groups to Check Out from the chair and panellists
- SWARM https://www.swarmcollective.org/
- Bent Bars https://www.bentbarsproject.org/
- Body Count https://twitter.com/BCountUK
- Nap Ministry https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/
- Critical Resistance http://criticalresistance.org/
- Cradle Collective https://www.instagram.com/cradlecommunity/
- Generation Five http://www.generationfive.org/
- INCITE https://incite-national.org/
- United Voices of the World GBV Workers Branch https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/en/sectors/gender-based-violence-workers/
- London Renters Union https://londonrentersunion.org/
- Acorn https://acorntheunion.org.uk/
- Docs Not Cops http://www.docsnotcops.co.uk/
Some books, academics and articles the chair and panellists mentioned
- Ruthie Gilmore https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/magazine/prison-abolition-ruth-wilson-gilmore.html
- Beth Richie Arrested Justice
- Sarah Lamble ‘ Everyday Abolition’ https://abolitionistfutures.com/latest-news/practising-everyday-abolition
- Ejeris Dixon, ‘I would like to return my TJ process, or discarding TJ like we discard femmes’ in Beyond Survival
- Abolitionist Futures, Reformist Reforms https://abolitionistfutures.com/defund-the-police
- Critical Resistance, Reformist reforms https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59ead8f9692ebee25b72f17f/t/5b65cd58758d46d34254f22c/1533398363539/CR_NoCops_reform_vs_abolition_CRside.pdf
- SWARM, How We Ran a Mutual Aid Fund https://www.swarmcollective.org/blog
- Aviah Sarah Day, Aisha K Gill, Applying intersectionality to partnerships between women’s organizations and the criminal justice system in relation to domestic violence, The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 60, Issue 4, July 2020, Pages 830–850, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaa003
Panellist Elio asked us to include the following:
- The Scottish government are currently running a consultation on laws relating to sex work in an attempt to introduce the “Swedish Model” or “Nordic Model” – a criminalising legal model that harms sex workers and been fought against by sex workers globally since it’s first introduction. Read Umbrella Lane’s statement on the consultation and proposed legislative changeand look at Scot-Pep’s response, which includes guidance on responding to the consultation. The deadline for submission of responses is December 10th 2020. For more information on the Nordic Model, this 2019 conversation between sex workers from four different countries impacted by the legal model is illuminating. You may also want to read Scot-Pep’s recent article on 16 days to end violence against sex workers.