State & Private Violence
4 State & Private Violence articles categorized as: Activism
Where Abolition Meets Action: Women Organizing Against Gender Violence
by
Victoria Law
The last decade has seen a growing movement toward abolishing prisons. At the same time, antiviolence organizers have called on prison abolitionists to take the issue of gender violence seriously and to develop initiatives to address it in the context of prison abolition. Fueled by increasing recognition that women of color, immigrant, queer, transgender, poor, and other marginalized women are often further brutalized – rather than protected – by the police, grassroots groups, and activists throughout the world, are organizing community alternatives to calling 911. Such initiatives, however, are not new. Throughout history, women have acted and organized to ensure their own and their loved ones’ safety. This article, which originally appeared in the journal Contemporary Justice Review, examines both past and present models of women’s community self-defense practices against interpersonal violence.
Community and Resistance: Katrina, Jena Six and Prisoner Justice
by
Victoria Law
A panel discussion with journalists and community organizers Jordan Flaherty, Jesse Muhammad, and Victoria Law.
A Case of Battered Justice: Theresa Cruz fighting Domestic Violence and State Violence
by
Diana Block
This article is a story about Theresa Cruz, a woman who was sentenced to seven years to life after allegedly planning the murder of a man who had abused and stalked her for five years. Cruz’s case is reviewed and for a short period of time she is released, only to be placed back into prison two weeks later. Cruz’s experience is an example of what many battered women have had to face in challenging the law.
Surviving Solitary
by
Laura Whitehorn
Laura Whitehorn wrote this letter in March 1997 as a part of a packet for the National Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons, discussing the tactics she used to survive in a control unit.