A review by thevampiremars
What about the rapists? : Anarchist Approaches to Crime and Justice by Dysophia

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

The book is split into two parts, exploring two approaches to justice in the wake of sexual violence: accountability processes based on principles of transformative justice, and retribution (as in violent revenge or expulsion). Both approaches are deeply flawed but worth consideration.

Slightly iffy gender politics (sometimes seeming to regard sexual violence as something which is done by men to women (and worse, treating men as inherent aggressors and women as inherent victims)). Plus trope-ish characterisation of alleged victims and the accused, though this is acknowledged:
An identity politics around the labels “survivor” and “perpetrator” has emerged, with scenes polarizing around them. In spite of efforts to caution against this and encourage all participants in accountability processes to remain self-critical, these labels have sometimes been used to leverage power, dispense or deny legitimacy, and erase differences in experience.

Some thoughts I had/am having:
  • Accountability and Consequences are bludgeons
  • Righteousness spurs violence
  • Can we separate justice from retribution? If yes, how? And should we?
  • How can we prove that harm has been inflicted? Is it reasonable to expect someone to prove they’ve been harmed?
  • How can we prove that someone has changed their ways? Is it reasonable to expect someone to prove they’ve changed?
  • Penance as punishment?
  • In a political framework of comrades and adversaries, it seems subsuming yourself into an allied class (eg: women against men) makes it easier to justify or permit violence as being enacted anonymously against an equally anonymous entity (“us vs them” as an abstracted extrapolation of “me vs him”); sexual violence in this context is an act of war
  • How is Tom?

This book reminded me of Against Equality, in that it offers a snapshot of activist circles’ theories and realities from not so long ago (the early 2010s) but even so it’s a different political landscape. It didn’t give me much to underscore and say “I wholeheartedly agree!” or “I reject this entirely!” but plenty to think about and reflect on. Provocative.