In the last month or two, a handful of people that I know have been publicly asked to take accountability for the sexual harm that they have caused. Naturally, this is alarming. It is a painful reminder that patriarchy is more than a political issue; it's a personal issue.
I have taught sex ed off and on for the past six years. In that time, I have also come into my political orientation as an abolitionist, puzzled over what accountability looks like without punishment, and struggled to grapple with the harm that I have both caused and experienced. Through these processes, I have been grateful for the wisdom and thought leadership that I have been referred to. I want to organize some of those resources in a central place. This list will be a work in progress.
Many of the resources I list below can be found a transformharm.org, a website Mariame Kaba created to consolidate a wide variety of resources that pertain to transforming harm, many of which are focused on transformative justice and community accountability.
Readings/watchings/listenings:
On survival:
– Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk
On accountability and transformative justice:
– Feminist Accountability: Disrupting Violence and Transforming Power, by Ann Russo
– Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, edited by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
– How to Survive the End of the World podcast episode with Mariame Kaba, by adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown
– Building Accountable Communities video series, by the Barnard Center for Research on Women
On relationship skills:
– Hello, Sailor! How to Build, Board, and Navigate a Healthy Relationship, by Heather Corinna
– Does Your Relationship Need a Checkup?, by Heather Corinna
Toolkits:
– The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Partner Abuse in Activist Communities, by Critical Resistance
– Transformative Justice: A Curriculum Guide, by Project NIA
– A number of the readings/insights from generationFive:
– Ending Child Sexual Abuse: a transformative justice handbook (pdf)
– Toward Transformative Justice: A Liberatory Approach to Child Sexual Abuse and
other forms of Intimate and Community Violence
– A stand-up start up guide, by Philly Stands Up
– Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence
– Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators, by Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan
– Restorative Justice Online guide by Linda Millington and Trevor Watson of Why me?
People and groups I've learned from in doing this work: