What Can We Do Instead? Advancing Anti-Carceral Responses to Gender-Based Violence

• In Event: Carceral Care and Anti-carceral Alternatives

Abstract

In the early part of the anti-violence against women movement, the criminalization of domestic violence and sexual assault was lauded as a success by many – but not all – feminists. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, it is clear carceral responses to gender-based violence have been harmful to survivors in many ways, especially survivors from marginalized communities. There is also little evidence that carceral responses (involving police and prisons) have stopped the perpetration of these crimes. However, many advocates and scholars wonder whether it is possible to change “how things are done” at this point in history and raise the persistent question: “what can we do instead?” In this conceptual paper, I briefly outline the history of legal and policy responses to gender-based violence, the harms associated with these approaches, and offer a primer on anti-carceral responses to gender-based violence (often initiated by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ community members) that center healing, safety, and well-being with an aim of eradicating gender-based violence.

Author

• Jane Palmer, American University