Queering Smart Decarceration: Centering the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Young People to Imagine a World Without Prisons

Addressing mass incarceration through smart decarceration initiatives is one of the Grand Challenges for Social Work named by the American Academy of Social Work Welfare and Research. The exponential growth of the U.S. prison system is largely due to legislation that targets marginalized communities...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Affilia Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 358 - 375
Main Authors: Hereth, Jane, Bouris, Alida
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Abolitionists
Academic disciplines
Bisexuality
Case studies
Correctional system
Feminism
Feminist theory
Imprisonment
Legal system
Legislation
Lesbianism
LGBTQ people
Low income groups
Marginality
Mental disorders
Minority & ethnic groups
Prison reform
Prisons
Sexual orientation
Sexuality
Slavery
Social work
Social workers
Surveillance
Transgender persons
Welfare
Work
Youth
feminist theories
gender expressions
sexual orientation and LGBT issues
criminal justice
queer theory
race and ethnicity
ISSN:0886-1099, 1552-3020
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Addressing mass incarceration through smart decarceration initiatives is one of the Grand Challenges for Social Work named by the American Academy of Social Work Welfare and Research. The exponential growth of the U.S. prison system is largely due to legislation that targets marginalized communities, including people of color, poor people, people with mental illness, and those living with disabilities, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people of all ages. In this article, we seek to complicate the current conversation on smart decarceration by arguing that social workers committed to addressing mass incarceration should engage abolitionist theory, politics, and organizing in their work in order to effectively address the root causes driving the buildup of the prison nation. We engage feminist and queer theories as two theoretical interventions that can guide this work. We next describe how LGBTQ+ youth enter the criminal legal system, highlighting how normative systems of gender and sexuality subject LGBTQ+ youth to punitive policing, surveillance, and discipline. Finally, we share three models of prison abolitionist organizing led by LGBTQ+ people of color as case studies. By examining how these organizations embrace queer and feminist abolitionist frameworks, we identify concrete ways that social workers can adopt abolitionist principles and practices in their work to address mass incarceration.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:0886-1099
1552-3020
DOI:10.1177/0886109919871268