Subject: [fem-women2000 678] "Whose Safety?: Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcemen t" - New Publication from the AFSC and the CWPE!
From: Jennifer Hope <JHope@afsc.org>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 16:25:06 -0400
Seq: 678

PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT

"Whose Safety? Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement"
By Anannya Bhattacharjee
Published by the American Friends Service Committee and the Committee on
Women, Population, and the Environment, Philadelphia, 2001, xiv + 45 pp.

"Whose Safety? Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement,"
documents how women of color, both immigrant and U.S.-born, are facing a
mounting spiral of violence at the hands of law enforcement, including
police agencies, prisons, and jails, as well as border guards, other agents
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and INS detention
centers.

This comprehensive report, authored by activist and independent researcher
Anannya Bhattcharjee, is copublished by the American Friends Service
Committee (AFSC) and the Committee on Women, Population, and the
Environment. It offers an overview of contemporary anti-violence organizing,
with concrete examples and critical reflections drawn from interviews with
more than 80 anti-violence activists nationwide, as well as numerous
published and unpublished reports.

As the scope and power of law enforcement continues to expand, its impact on
women, particularly women of color, has grown dramatically, leading to a
well-documented upsurge in violations of civil, constitutional, and human
rights. Women experience enforcement violence both as direct targets of
law-enforcement operations and as caregivers and advocates for their family
members and communities. "Whose Safety?" explores the impact of enforcement
violence on key areas of women's lives, including reproductive and sexual
autonomy, violence in the home, family and caregiving, and paid work. 

Although there are some notable exceptions, groups calling for greater
accountability from police or immigration authorities generally fail to
consider women's particular experience of enforcement violence - while many
women's anti-violence organizations continue to rely on law enforcement to
counter intimate violence. Notes Bhattacharjee, a "gender analysis of
enforcement violence requires an exploration that crosses all these
divisions," in order to "sustain cohesive, effective, and strategic social
movements."  

"Whose Safety?" is issued as part of AFSC's new Justice Visions series on
contemporary strategies for community action against violence and abuse.
Another working paper in this series, forthcoming this summer, is "In a Time
of Broken Bones: A Call to Dialogue on Hate Violence and the Limitations of
Hate Crimes Legislation," by Katherine Whitlock, an in-depth exploration of
the nature of hate violence and the likely uninentended consequences of
current campaigns for stronger hate crimes legislation. 

"Whose Safety?" is available online at
http://www.afsc.org/JusticeVisions.htm. Printed copies may be ordered for
$5.00 per copy plus $3.50 postage and handling; a 10% discount is offered on
orders of five or more copies. (Only prepaid orders may be accepted; foreign
orders will be billed for actual postage). Order from Literature Resources
Unit, AFSC, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102. Credit card orders only
may be phoned toll-free to 1-888-588-2372. 

Separate offprints of the executive summary for "Whose Safety" are available
free of charge from AFSC's Community Relations Unit (cruweb@afsc.org or
215/241-7126).






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