Part 2: Wars Don’t Resolve Social Problems: Care and Compassion Do

by Justice Rivera, Aya Tasaki, Emani Walks

From erotic labor, to the rights of people who use psychoactive substances, to reproductive health, and carcerality - we are living through a political moment when debates about bodily autonomy are at a fever pitch. Towards Bodily A Healing Justice Anthology Decolonizing Sex Work and Drug Use is a bold and timely collection that confronts these charged issues at the intersection of social justice and public health. The second section entitled “Wars Don’t Resolve Social Care and Compassion Do” presents visionary frameworks and a set of practical strategies to advance unity and care while working to transform conditions for communities that bear the brunt of interpersonal and systemic violence, overdose deaths, and health inequities.

In the words of leading advocates, service providers, and scholars whose lives and communities have been harmed by American neo-colonial policies, Towards Bodily Autonomy offers promising, healing-centered interventions that represent a critical culture shift. This section of the collection features trusted voices on health and social policy reform including Aya Tasaki, Justice Rivera, Emani Walks, Melodie Garcia, Tamika Spellman, Wit Lõpez, Leila Raven, Jessica Peńaranda, and Monique Tula.

The articles and interviews within are an offering to expand our collective understanding of survival, healing, and embodied freedom. Towards Bodily Autonomy is a must read for anyone with a compassionate worldview, people seeking to know more about underground economies, and those who know that punishment doesn’t lead to security. It is a liberatory design and a prayer for what’s possible.

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2023