Anti-Carceral Feminism: The Contradictions of Progress and the Possibilities of Counter-Hegemonic Struggle

Abstract

<jats:p> History reveals that the pathway toward carceral feminism was fraught with contradictions. Feminist reform strategies that appeared progressive devolved into mandates contributing to the policies of mass incarceration; frameworks meant to disavow racist myths of violence inherent to communities of color fueled color-blind narratives that cloaked white, middle-class-defined social movement priorities; safety strategies protecting survivors of violence entrapped them into set options violating the right to self-determination. Today’s account of carceral feminism reveals well-intentioned choices leading to often ill-fated outcomes. As the critique of carceral feminism seeps into the discourse of the feminist anti-violence movement, a shift toward new values, policies, and practices holds the possibility of radical new directions. However, there is no reason to assume that this new pathway will be so straightforward. This article centers the dynamic of contradiction to synthesize insights of post-Marxist thought in application to contemporary anti-carceral feminist trends represented by transformative justice options. It also reflects on the recent ascendance of restorative justice and a renewed potential for carceral co-optation. The aim is to illuminate troubled areas of revision and radical alternatives and better navigate inevitable ethical and pragmatic tensions that may define future social movement trajectories. </jats:p>

Introduction to Special Topic on Anticarceral Feminisms: Imagining a World Without Prisons

“…In this case, the fight for queer people within the PIC, for example, filing paperwork to change the names and gender markers for incarcerated transgender youth and adults, can serve to demand changes within carceral systems while also challenging the policing, surveillance, and incarceration of queer people and others targeted by the system of mass incarceration. Kim's (2020) overview of carceral feminism and the paradoxical choices that characterize the feminist anti-violence movement in its pursuit of enhanced policing also highlights the ways in which anticarceral and abolitionist transformative justice movements have developed and persist within the perils of the still hegemonic systems of capitalism, hetero-patriarchy, and settler colonialism. Citing the rising popularity of restorative justice as a counter to the punitive criminal legal system, she tempers the current attention to the harms of the carceral buildup with a warning to discern reforms that resolve the carceral crisis through accommodations to the carceral state from those that stand outside.…”

“…Feminist social work, informed by and aligned with anticarceral and abolitionist praxis, offers a set of frameworks and practices that can better build toward such liberatory goals. Grounded in the feminist abolitionist framework of transformative justice and the values of collective and self-determined community strategies for justice, Pollack, Jaldorn, Hereth and Bouris (2020), and Kim (2020) each amplify feminist practice that illustrates the underlying principles that can counter the legacy of reformist social work that has too often colluded with the logic and institutions of incarceration.…”

“…Kim’s (2020) overview of carceral feminism and the paradoxical choices that characterize the feminist anti-violence movement in its pursuit of enhanced policing also highlights the ways in which anticarceral and abolitionist transformative justice movements have developed and persist within the perils of the still hegemonic systems of capitalism, hetero-patriarchy, and settler colonialism. Citing the rising popularity of restorative justice as a counter to the punitive criminal legal system, she tempers the current attention to the harms of the carceral buildup with a warning to discern reforms that resolve the carceral crisis through accommodations to the carceral state from those that stand outside.…”

Nursing work is justice work: Rethinking justice and promoting healing in survivors of gender‐based violence

“…Approaches to GBV that prioritize criminal justice system involvement and the conviction and incarceration of perpetrators are often referred to as "carceral feminism" (Kim, 2019). Critics of carceral feminism note that these approaches trust that the criminal justice and prison systems will protect women and fail to address the violence and harm caused by law enforcement, especially to communities of color (Kim, 2019). Whether purposely or inadvertently, these approaches prioritize the physical safety of white, middle-class, cis-gendered women over the safety of many other individuals and communities (Kim, 2019).…”

“…Critics of carceral feminism note that these approaches trust that the criminal justice and prison systems will protect women and fail to address the violence and harm caused by law enforcement, especially to communities of color (Kim, 2019). Whether purposely or inadvertently, these approaches prioritize the physical safety of white, middle-class, cis-gendered women over the safety of many other individuals and communities (Kim, 2019). They also ignore the cited inability of these systems to meet the many needs of the survivors they were built to protect.…”