I'm going to make a thread about approaches to dealing with abuse and violence which don't rely on carceral approaches (e.g. prison). And then I'm going to take some time away from debating this, because it's deeply painful. Content note for rape all through the thread.

(A note that I think we have to consider permanent exclusion from school a carceral approach. So while these resources talk about prison, I believe they're transferable to permanent exclusion, which is often the first step on a pipeline to prison).

There is a long history of anti-rape movements which do not rely on the state to punish perpetrators. as Mariame Kaba describes here (description in alt text):

You may not agree! You may want to argue in favour of prisons and exclusions. but please do so knowing that many feminists (especially Black feminists, who have led this work) care deeply about sexual violence */and/* do not believe in a punitive framework. Mariame Kaba again:

In 1977, a group of rape survivors who'd been working within the nascent anti-rape movement in the US wrote a letter called "letter to the anti-rape movement" where they express concern about the direction the movement was taking. They argued that:

You can read this letter, as well as the introduction by Mariame Kaba I've been quoting, here: https://issuu.com/projectnia/docs/letter-to-the-antirape-movement

I am not expecting to immediately convert people to a full abolitionist position immediately. My own journey to abolition was long, with a few jolts on the way that spurred me on (one was the pandemic, funnily enough)

What I am hoping to do is illustrate that these ideas - that you can oppose punitive frameworks /and/ care deeply about harm reduction, feminist justice, and anti-racism, and indeed see all of the above as connected - are not new. There is a legacy of careful thought behind them

What I am asking is that people stop patronising us by assuming we have not considered things from a survivor's point of view. For many of us, that's the point of view that got us here

Of course, there is so much still to be talked about. what do we do in a society where we heal rather than punish? how do we even imagine that healing when we're so used to punishment - so accustomed to feeling that we're only safe if people who've hurt us are being punished?

Truly, I don't know yet. But I also know that being challenged to imagine that society is important. and it needs to happen at every level. It's scary and challenging - we know that. It will come with a lot of work - we know that too.

There is so much to be talked about - but it can't happen while carceral feminists (feminists who believe the solutions to violence against women lie in prisons & other punitive systems) are claiming the exclusive right to the moral high ground.

I think that's all I've got right now. Good luck everybody. https://open.spotify.com/track/699uiK6P4HCPbOHz56emEj?si=1bb71ea37ce54811

I put capital letters in this and everything to get Grownup Edutwitter to take it seriously. If that doesn't work, I really do give up

Thanks so much for sharing and giving this sincere consideration. This was a work of collation, not creation, and credit for the ideas themselves is not mine. Read the people linked here and follow active abolitionists like @NExclusions @CAPExpansion @psn_ldn

I'm going to mute the thread because notifications are getting a bit much, but if you want to talk to me about this stuff please @ me directly and I'll respond!