As we republish the final edition of The Abolitionist we reflect on the twenty-two editions and consider what we can learn from the struggles of the 1980s

Read a full digital copy of this edition of Radical Alternative to Prison’s journal “The Abolitionist” (1987) No. 23

We are less likely to intervene, than to report an incident after the fact. This happens across the spectrum, from the most violent rapes, through street harassment, into universities and other institutions: at the ‘everyday’ end, complaints tend to be submitted when difficult conversations would be more effective. Faith (or hope) in authoritarian systems seems unshakeable, even given overwhelming evidence they don’t keep us safe:

Feminism is a political methodology that can help us name the structural, interpersonal and otherwise murky forces which make up a social landscape. It does so by enabling an examination and analysis of the material conditions which underpin social organisation, it helps us understand the ways that capitalism’s operation is specifically gendered and racialised in its arrangement of labour, social relationships, the economy as well as prisons and the police.

abolitionist strategies, if given support, would be able to address some of the complex root causes of sexualised street harassment which include misogyny, patriarchy, economic inequality, and intersecting forms of marginalisation. It is these structures and norms that render some women more vulnerable to harm, particularly since that harm reflects entrenched norms emerging out of histories of “heterosexism, colonialism, and slavery.”

Mainstream feminism in Britain is commonly preoccupied with the desire for a seat at the table of power; for a stake in the empire, for legislative wins and more women in board rooms and on parliamentary benches. Yet multiple, competing feminisms exist—arguably, feminist work has always been characterised by fragmentation and internal dissent. The halcyon years of the women’s liberation movement (WLM) in the 1970’s is also wrought with dissent and disagreement.

As “carceral feminism” has become ever more distilled, rigidly individualised ideas around what – and who – the “carceral feminist” is have also emerged. A process which has been accelerated with the growing interest in anti-carceral perspectives following calls to defund the police in 2020 in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Recording & Transcript of the public launch of the Abolitionist Strategies VS Carceral Reforms Gender Based Violence Resource. Event was held in June 2024 and the speakers were Leah Cowan, Lola Olufemi and Billy

Gender Based Violence Series launch will draw on some of the focus of the Abolitionist Strategies to Gender Based Violence resource, while also teasing out some of the problems found in our current ways of conceptualising responses to gender based violence.

In person Reading Group in Leeds April - July 2025 announced.

Due to our current limited capacity, Abolitionist Futures will not be running our annual reading group in 2025.

Read a full digital copy of this edition of Radical Alternative to Prison’s journal “The Abolitionist” (1986) No. 22

This week saw thousands in London demanding the government go-back on their announcement to make certain farms liable for inheritance tax. 

Read a full digital copy of this edition of Radical Alternative to Prison’s journal “The Abolitionist” (1985) No. 20

Why Abolitionists must resist the assisted dying bill.

Recording & transcript: On October 15th people accross continents joined an online workshop Against Border Carcerality and towards Abolition that brought together activists, community organizers, and engaged researchers to share experiences, insights and strategies based on their ongoing struggles against border carceral systems, including detention, deportation, and encampment, across different countries and contexts. 

Read a full digital copy of this edition of Radical Alternative to Prison’s journal “The Abolitionist” (1985) No. 19

A response to political and academic discourse that has emerged in support of a devolved criminal justice system in Cymru (Wales). It challenges, from an abolitionist perspective, arguments that present devolution as the solution to what is often presented as a criminal justice system that is both failing and at breaking point.