Prisons destroy lives. The British Government intend to build 9 new
mega prisons by 2020, while more & more women and trans* folk are
caged and brutalised in our prison system. The enormous weight of
supporting loved ones in prisons is carried by us who emotionally,
financially and practically labour to support people in prison while
caring for those left behind. The prison industrial complex has been
built on white supremacy. It is a racist institution with
people of colour vastly over represented with growing racist border
controls, raids & more. The prison system is part of the continuous
state assault & long history of patriarchy & gender-conformity
that we contend with every day. This week is an attempt to reclaim our
lives. Who is welcome at the gathering?
This week of action
is for folks who identify as women, non-binary, transgender,
transsexual, gender queer and gender variant. It is an intentional space
to share campaign information, organising approaches and direct action
skills in a supportive and empowering environment for those commonly
excluded or dominated by cis-men.
What will be taking place?
There will be:
*Multiple days of action *A three day gathering over the weekend to explore all of the issues in more depth *Workshops, discussions, film showings & more
The focus of the gathering is to collectively explore how we respond to
harm, from interpersonal violence, such as sexual assault, to state
& structural violence such as poverty, detention centres &
prisons.
This is a space for critical questions about how we move beyond the state and build alternatives.
How can I get involved? Please get in touch to help make this happen. Support is needed with:
*Practical logistics e.g. securing accommodation, food, childcare *Fundraising *Publicity e.g. social media, writing articles, networking at events *Preparing content, such as contacting people to facilitate workshops *Planning actions
Please email in...@prisonabolition.org to join the working group that is organising the gathering.
Please start organising autonomously in your local area to support this
event e.g. planning local actions, info nights before hand and
fundraisers.
Who is organising this gathering & week of action?
A small informal collective has emerged out of the recent Week of
Action Against the Prison Industrial Complex in November 2015. We are a
group of cis-women & gender queer folk who hate prisons with all our
hearts. Some of us have been inside, others have spent far too many
days in prison visits waiting rooms. We are survivors of rape, sexual
assault, abuse and harassment. We do not want to be dominated by
cis-men, patriarchy or capitalism any more. Each of us share a passion
to build alternatives to prison, to actually find ways of supporting
survivors and responding to harm in our communities. We have been
greatly inspired by comrades a that have organised Trans and/or Women’s
Action Camps in Cascadia. We are all volunteers, will most likely make a
lot of mistakes but are doing our best to inspire resistance to the
Prison Industrial Complex that plagues our lives.