How Gender-Based Violence Makes Prison Abolition (Un)thinkable : The Role of Narrations and Their Setting

Judith Sürken suggests the difference between those arguing for and against prison abolition is attributable to different conceptualisations of gendered violence. She argues that the criminal courts’ focus on whether punishment is required inevitably makes individual punishment appear a sufficient response to gendered violence. Prison-abolition feminism, by focussing on ending gendered violence, conceptualises it more broadly allowing an understanding of the limits and harms of prison as a solution. Relying on intersectional theory, Sürken suggests that considering the problem feminist movements want to solve shows that whilst
criminal law reforms are not pointless, there is a need to pursue alternative strategies as well.