‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive

Feminist activism has played an important role in documenting, highlighting and challenging carceral violence against women within and beyond prison walls. Using the campaign against the punitive segregation of women in high-security men’s prisons in the 1980s and 1990s in Victoria, Australia, as a...

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Main Authors: Bree Carlton, Emma K. Russell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2017-01-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
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Online Access:https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/877
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author Bree Carlton
Emma K. Russell
author_facet Bree Carlton
Emma K. Russell
author_sort Bree Carlton
collection DOAJ
description Feminist activism has played an important role in documenting, highlighting and challenging carceral violence against women within and beyond prison walls. Using the campaign against the punitive segregation of women in high-security men’s prisons in the 1980s and 1990s in Victoria, Australia, as a case study, we illustrate the value of the activist archive for critical prisons research. The activist archive has the potential to expose continuities in carceral violence, highlight the limitations and potentialities of legal and official oversight processes, and debunk official rhetoric of the prison’s reformative and rehabilitative potential. Our discussion demonstrates the extent to which the activist archive can yield a powerful arsenal of accounts, critiques and organising strategies for anti-carceral feminist movements. El activismo feminista ha desempeñado un importante papel a la hora de documentar, subrayar y cuestionar la violencia carcelaria contra las mujeres, dentro y fuera de las prisiones. Utilizando como estudio de caso la campaña contra la segregación punitiva de mujeres en prisiones de alta seguridad para hombres en los años 80 y 90 en Victoria, Australia, ilustramos el valor del archivo del activismo para la investigación crítica sobre las prisiones. Dicho archivo tiene el potencial de exponer la continuidad de la violencia carcelaria, subrayar las limitaciones y potencialidades de los procesos de revisión legales y oficiales, y desmontar el discurso oficial sobre la capacidad reformatoria y rehabilitadora de la prisión. Nuestra tesis demuestra que el archivo activista puede dotar al movimiento feminista anticarcelario de un rico muestrario de testimonios, críticas y estrategias organizativas. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-0929
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spelling doaj-art-68d3db1253b040a4af1d8dd64b2675882025-08-20T01:53:27ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712017-01-0182719‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist ArchiveBree Carlton0Emma K. Russell1Monash UniversityLa Trobe University Feminist activism has played an important role in documenting, highlighting and challenging carceral violence against women within and beyond prison walls. Using the campaign against the punitive segregation of women in high-security men’s prisons in the 1980s and 1990s in Victoria, Australia, as a case study, we illustrate the value of the activist archive for critical prisons research. The activist archive has the potential to expose continuities in carceral violence, highlight the limitations and potentialities of legal and official oversight processes, and debunk official rhetoric of the prison’s reformative and rehabilitative potential. Our discussion demonstrates the extent to which the activist archive can yield a powerful arsenal of accounts, critiques and organising strategies for anti-carceral feminist movements. El activismo feminista ha desempeñado un importante papel a la hora de documentar, subrayar y cuestionar la violencia carcelaria contra las mujeres, dentro y fuera de las prisiones. Utilizando como estudio de caso la campaña contra la segregación punitiva de mujeres en prisiones de alta seguridad para hombres en los años 80 y 90 en Victoria, Australia, ilustramos el valor del archivo del activismo para la investigación crítica sobre las prisiones. Dicho archivo tiene el potencial de exponer la continuidad de la violencia carcelaria, subrayar las limitaciones y potencialidades de los procesos de revisión legales y oficiales, y desmontar el discurso oficial sobre la capacidad reformatoria y rehabilitadora de la prisión. Nuestra tesis demuestra que el archivo activista puede dotar al movimiento feminista anticarcelario de un rico muestrario de testimonios, críticas y estrategias organizativas. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-0929 https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/877Anti-carceral feminismabolitionpenal reformwomen’s imprisonmentactivist knowledgeFeminismo anticarcelario
spellingShingle Bree Carlton
Emma K. Russell
‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Anti-carceral feminism
abolition
penal reform
women’s imprisonment
activist knowledge
Feminismo anticarcelario
title ‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
title_full ‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
title_fullStr ‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
title_full_unstemmed ‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
title_short ‘We Will Be Written Out of History’: Feminist Challenges to Carceral Violence and the Activist Archive
title_sort we will be written out of history feminist challenges to carceral violence and the activist archive
topic Anti-carceral feminism
abolition
penal reform
women’s imprisonment
activist knowledge
Feminismo anticarcelario
url https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/877
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