Thinking Like an Abolitionist to End Sexual Violence in Higher Education

by Chris Linder, Nadeeka Karunaratne, Niah S. Grimes

This book brings abolitionist ideas into higher education contexts as a way to address the problem of sexual violence on college campuses. Despite college and university administrators spending millions of dollars each year to address sexual violence among students, rates of sexual violence have not budged. This cutting-edge book first examines the histories of policies enacted to address sexual violence on campuses, drawing parallels between campus movements and mainstream feminist movements, describes contexts contributing to ongoing harm and violence among students with minoritized identities, and explores healing through community accountability processes. Thinking Like an Abolitionist to End Sexual Violence in Higher Education provides promising strategies for leaders in higher education to consider, including embracing mistakes, moving through fear, facilitating individual and collective healing, and employing transformative approaches to accountability. With suggestions for engaging in reflection and specific calls to action, practitioners, researchers, activists, educators, and policymakers alike will find this resource to be a transformative keystone text.

190 pages, Paperback

Published September 4, 2024

Reviews

[Kalani Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It really opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my work in sexual violence prevention and made me reflect deeply. It inspired me to dream more often and to inspire others to do the same. We can all start building a better future together, but that first step of dreaming and envisioning that brighter future in community, makes it feel more possible to build. This book invigorated me at a time where I was feeling incredibly burnt out. Thank you to the authors/ researchers for giving me the space I needed to rest and reflect.