Link zu Buch Reflexion überStrafe http://www.projektwerkstatt.de/strafe/html/strafe.htm http://www.projektwerkstatt.de/strafe/ For anyone who's not accustomed to internet links, if any of the links below look like they contain spaces, those are actually underscores ( the _ symbol) that you can't see because the links are underlined. If you type the links with spaces, they won't work. If you'd like to get a hold of a word document version of this resource list - to distribute/reuse/reproduce or to avoid having to type all the internet links - contact me at accountabilityzine@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send you one. If you know of any other local groups, drop me a line and I'll keep this list updated. (Send me a message if you'd like to be kept abreast of any updates, too.) Sections included in this list (in order of appearance): Addiction/Addictive Coping Mechanisms/Substance Abuse Mental Health Trauma Resources for Creating Accountability Communication/Nonviolenct Communication Community Response, Conflict Mediation, Supporting Accountability Survivor Support/Truthtelling Feminism/Anti-Sexism (especially for people socialized as men) Local Groups ADDICTION/ADDICTIVE COPING MECHANISMS/SUBSTANCE ABUSE -Wingnuts Liberation Project http://www.myspace.com/209Wingnut This is an anarchist needle-exchange project (formerly addiction-recovery resource project) based out of Modesto, California. Their webpage provides some links and resources for self-help and alternative approaches to 12-step programs for addiction recovery, and the people involved would probably be able to provide a more extensive list. They come from a perspective that's critical of the Alcoholics Anonymous framework. The author of one of the books mentioned on the Wingnuts Liberation page, "Rational Recovery," has a free crash course in his technique on the internet; I don't endorse this because I haven't read it yet, but thought I ought to mention it: Addictive Voice Recognition Therapy - free internet crash course https://rational.org/html_public_area/course_avrt.html -Prescription for Change: Community Response to Substance Abuse available at http://www.zinelibrary.info/prescription-change-community-response-substance-use or from http://www.myspace.com/blackandgreendistro This is an excellent zine (literally, one of the best I've ever read) that talks about addiction and supporting someone who's trying to kick their habits. It comes from the experience of someone who was addicted to heroin for a long time. The author provides a great anti-oppression critique of the AA model, and the tendency of everyone to assume it is "the" answer to addiction - often without knowing anything about AA. It also talks specifically about accountability, abuse, and substance abuse - as well as the chemistry of both substance addiction and addictive behaviors. -Alcoholics Anonymous www.aa.org/ It has a lot of problems, but it helps some people. The website has some AA literature available for free online, as well as listings of local groups. -Narcotics Anonymous www.na.org/ The website has free online downloads of NA Literature (informational pamphlets, booklets, and books). Also included is a database of meetings and groups worldwide (web meetings, for those not in a town with an in-person group, are also included under the "NA Meeting Search" link; just enter "web" for the country). -Sex Addicts Anonymous http://www.sexaa.org/ http://www.sexaa.org/espanol/index.htm (in spanish) The website has listings for chapters in all but two states and Puerto Rico, in addition to a number of countries outside the U.S. In the U.S., there are groups meeting in multiple cities within any particular state, and in some states the number of cities with groups is astounding. They also have online meetings, information about which can be found at: http://www.saa-recovery.org/online.htm Aimed for people who have compulsive sexual behaviors. This reference to SAA comes with the same caveat as any other 12-Step group, but the therapist I had mentioned it would be a safe place to talk with other people about boundary-crossing behaviors. -Secular Organizations for Sobriety http://www.cfiwest.org/sos/ http://www.sossobriety.org/ Secular Organizations for Sobriety (also known as Save Our Selves or SOS) is an alternative recovery method for those alcoholics or drug addicts who are uncomfortable with the spiritual content of widely available 12-Step programs. The program is for people who find that the ideas of reliance on a Higher Power or God, "powerlessness" and the emphasis on character defects to be an obstacle to recovery; they focus on self-empowerment, rational, free-thought and open discussion. They respect recovery in any form regardless of the path by which it is achieved. Their approach is one of total abstinence (like AA). The first website listed above has pamphlets, resources for starting new groups, links to listservs, a discussion board, a prison program, and so on. It also has a database of SOS groups throughout the U.S. and in various other countries. The second website has tons more articles and stories, but is a little hard to read (the webmaster is fond of garish colors and animated, kitschy pictures). I don't have any experience with this group, so all of this information is taken directly from their websites. -LifeRing Secular Sobriety http://unhooked.com/ LifeRing is another up-and-coming secular sobriety organization for people who want to recover from alcohol or other drug addiction without depending on a "Higher Power." This group also has a commitment to complete abstinence from addictive drugs. They have a whole bunch of email lists, forums, and online chat meetings (including unmoderated lists, moderated lists, heavy traffic lists, light traffic lists, special interest lists, a bulletin board, a social network, and chats seven days a week). They have local meetings in a number of places throughout the U.S., and in a couple other countries. All of their brochures are available for free download on the website. They also have a bunch of free resources for starting up new groups. Again, I don't have any personal experience, so this information comes straight off the website. -An Attempt to Define a Nonviolent Communication Approach to Addictive Behaviors by Mayland Myers http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/press/article_PDF/Wayland_Myers/Addiction_Treatment_WMyers_060717.pdf This article presents a counter-intuitive approach to talking with and helping folks with addictions. The model seems especially counterintuitive if the addictive behaviors are involved in sexual assault, or harming other people. The article is thought-provoking and well worth a read. MENTAL HEALTH (stress, anxiety, depression, etc.) -The Icarus Project http://theicarusproject.net/ A group that provides a great model for DIY radical mental health and mental health support. They have a number of free materials available for download that are well worth individual mention. (The website also has extensive forums and other resources.) Friends Make the Best Medicine (their Icarus-group organizing zine): http://theicarusproject.net/icarus-downloads/friends-make-the-best-medicine Sleep Help fact sheet (provides practical advice on how to get good sleep, which is critical for emotional stability and mental health) http://theicarusproject.net/files/Sleeping_Help_fact_sheet.pdf -Madness First Aid Kit Handout http://theicarusproject.net/alternativetreatments/madnessfirstaidkithandout This is a single-sheet, mini-zine handout from the Icarus Project that describes how to make a "first aid kit" for the times when your mental health is slipping. It includes some ideas for things to include in a madness first aid kit, a basic overview of how to make a Mad Maps, some tips and ideas on getting better sleep and nutrition, and a bibliography for further reading. -Master Herbalism Article Index http://www.herbcraft.org/articleindex.html A massive, hand-picked listing of herbalism articles online. The herbalists who are represented are the real thing, and they know what they're talking about. A lot of different perspectives are respresented -- some are more science-oriented and others bring a spiritual/energetic aspect, some introductory and some more technical. The articles are organized by subject, and a huge variety of subjects are included. Among the topics represented are depression, anxiety, stress, sleep, sorrow, and mental health - as well as topics relating to more general health and well-being, which is important for mental health. -Healing in the Woods Around Us: Medicinal Plants for Mental Health Support http://www.zinelibrary.info/healing-woods-around-us or contact the author: bailandochispa@yahoo.com This zine was written by an herbalist in central North Carolina, and details the uses of a number of wild and cultivated plants for mental health support. All of the plants can commonly be found in health food stores, wildcrafted, or cultivated. -The Bay Area Radical Mental Health Collective http://www.radicalmentalhealth.net/ As its name implies, this is a group of folks doing radical mental health work. They do some local workshops and presentations and run a huge zine distro with tons of zines on mental health and related issues (like communication). -Misled Youth Network's Support Resource Directory http://www.misled-youth.org/resources/support The Misled Youth Network is a youth-liberation project aimed at connecting young people with each other and with resources for self-education, artistic expression, mental health support, and the like. This is their directory of resources for mental health (especially aimed towards teens, but useful for anyone) which has an extensive listing of books, zines, websites and so on. It also includes reviews for the resources mentioned. -Vitamins, Minerals, and Mental Health: the C.P.A.B.'s Discussion of Wellness available at http://zinelibrary.info/vitamins-minerals-and-mental-health or from http://www.pomegranatecollective.org This is an extensive, thorough zine all about how vitamins and minerals affect your mental health, what each nutrient does and in what foods it's found, and how different nutrients can be combined to be more effective. -The Mood Cure by Julia Ross A thorough examination of how diet and supplements can affect and heal depression. While this is a very useful book, the author notes that this information is specifically directed for depression and agitation and not for bipolar disorder. I haven't read this book, just read it recommended (from the Misled Youth Network). -Counterbalance http://bloominginspace.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/counterbalance.pdf A great zine talking about activism, mental health, and burnout. This is useful both for people who are going through accountability processes and those supporting them, and generally is really good for anyone working for anti-oppression and liberation. -The Worst http://zinelibrary.info/worst This is an excellent zine compiling people's writings on grief, loss, and grieving from a radical perspective. Though most of this zine focuses on the loss of loved ones to death, the perspective can be helpful to people who are grieving harm that they've done, as they're coming to terms with their actions and moving towards accountabilities. It talks about grief self-care, provides a model for starting DIY grief support groups, and has an extensive resource listing. -The DIY Antidepression Guide (aka Doris 15) http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/zines.html This is a great comic zine is issue 15 of the Doris series. It talks about depression and some simple DIY things you can do to help shake yourself out of a depressive rut and keep yourself engaged in life. It's fun and cute and great. -Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein Kate Bornstein is a radical transgender woman, and in writing this book she said, " This is not a book of reasons not to kill yourself. No matter how many I could come up with, you'll come up with more reasons to go through with it. This is a book about things to do instead." It's basically about taking the feelings of hopelessness and rejection that could drive someone to suicide, and channeling them somewhere else instead. I haven't read this book myself yet, but I've heard it recommended from all directions. This can be a helpful book to read for people considering suicide as they come to terms with their actions and the harm they've done other people. -U.S. National Suicide Hotline 1-800-SUICIDE The National Hopeline Network was activated in May of 1999 to connect callers - people who are depressed or suicidal, or those who are concerned about someone they love - automatically to a certified Crisis Center. Crisis Center calls are answered by trained counselors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is a good place to start if you want someone to talk to about suicide feelings, or if you know someone who's suicidal and don't know what to do. -Our Dark Passenger: Anarchists talk about mental illness and community support http://anarchia.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/new-zine-our-dark-passenger-anarchists-talk-about-mental-illness-and-community-support/ This zine gives a good introduction to what severe depression can feel like, for those who haven't experienced it. It has some suggestions on what not to say to folks who are depressed, offers some ideas for creating community support around depression and some ways to start conversations about how to offer support. TRAUMA -Emotional Trauma First Aid Handout http://theicarusproject.net/files/trauma_first_aid_fact_sheet08-07.pdf The Icarus Project (mentioned above) has a great one-page handout on emotional trauma first aid. This is equally useful for people who are just coming out of a traumatic circumstance, or for those who have just been triggered and are re-experiencing trauma emotions. -Emotional First Aid http://www.traumahealing.com/somatic-experiencing/art_emotional.html Another article on emotional first aid by Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger (described below). -Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine This book is a study of how animals in the wild - who experience trauma and traumatic situations on a daily basis - shake off and recover from that trauma. Levine brings those lessons from other animals into the world of human animals. Levine's approach doesn't depend on recovering and processing traumatic memories in order to heal the trauma, but instead focuses on the trauma emotions people experience in their body - whether they're fresh or "frozen." He considers working through those emotions instead of relying on memory to be much more versatile and helpful. I haven't read this book yet, but I've heard it recommended from all quarters. An extensive preview is available on books.google.com Additionally, a number of articles written by the author are available at http://www.traumahealing.com/somatic-experiencing/resources-articles.html -Trauma Stewardship by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk This book primarily discusses "vicarious trauma" - that is, experiencing trauma second-hand by working closely with people who have had traumatic things happen to them. The book acts as a sort of guide for people who are regularly exposed to others' traumas in the course of their daily lives or work. I haven't read this book yet, but have had it highly recommended to me (it's one of the favorites of the Bay Area Radical Mental Health Collective). Some taste of the book may be available on their website: http://www.traumastewardship.com/ (also on the website are details of the annual conference the authors hold about trauma stewardship) -Trauma and Recovery: From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Lewis Herman This is one of the canonical books on trauma and recovery, that changed a lot of the landscape of people's thoughts around the subject. I haven't read this book yet, but again have heard it recommended from all quarters. An extensive preview is available on books.google.com -Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World, a Guide for Activists and Their Allies by pattrice jones This is an excellent book that connects trauma with social division, oppression, and ecological collapse. It focuses on the necessity for activists (and all people) to understand themselves as animals, and as animals who are bodies and have animal emotions. The author also goes in-depth on what "activists and their allies" can concretely do to recover from trauma they experience as a part of or in conjunction with their activist work. Highly recommended. The first chapter, preface, and user's guide are available on the publisher's website: http://www.lanternbooks.com/detail.html?id=9781590561034 -The Survivor's Guide to Sex: How to Have an Empowered Sex Life After Child Sexual Abuse by Staci Haines In 2007, this book was re-published in a second edition as Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma. This is an amazing book that takes a somatic approach to healing sexual trauma. Somatics is essentially the idea that emotions are experienced in different areas of the body, and that trauma is stored, as frozen emotions, in the body as well. Somatics encourages people to use their body to access those stored traumas, bring them up, process them, and transform them. This is essentially a how-to guide for using the somatic method to safely heal sexual trauma. Though it is probably not appropriate for many people with accountability processes to be having sex with others, the book clearly demonstrates that these methods can be used just as effectively without partners. It also talks in-depth about things like consent (and embodied consent), and is sex-positive and queer-friendly. -Thriving in the Wake of Trauma: A Multicultural Guide by Thema Bryant-Davis This is a guide to not only surviving trauma, but thriving. It has a specifically multicultural focus which talks about not only ethnicity and race, but also disability, gender, migration status, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. It provides a road map for healing, and talks about activities one can engage in (including activism) to encourage thriving. It gives case-examples which illustrate the intersection of cultural matters and the particular theme of recovery being addressed. Highly recommended by pattrice jones, author of Aftershock. Extensive preview available at books.google.com -Herbs for Trauma http://zinelibrary.info/herbs-trauma or contact the author: parsnips@riseup.net This zine is written by an herbalist from the southern Appalachians. She gives a detailed description of how a number of different herbs are useful for trauma - coping, healing, and mitigating its effects. The zine comes especially from a perspective of sexual trauma, but many of the uses can be generalized. An excellent zine. -The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment by Babette Rothschild This is one of the first books written to explore the connection between "body memory" and trauma; it integrates physiology, the body, and body awareness into trauma therapy and trauma psychology. It's one of the core texts of the somatic approach to healing trauma - body, mind, and spirit. Although it is geared towards professionals, it is surprisingly accessible (and probably very accessible to people who don't mind a little bit of scientific terminology). It includes a mix of theory and practical applications, and because it is written for practitioners, there is a strong emphasis on explaining the specifics of how theoretical ideas can be implemented in order to heal trauma. -Generative Somatics Recommended Reading List http://somaticsandtrauma.org/pdf/somatics_resource_list.pdf This is a reading list around topics like trauma, somatics, sexual abuse, etc. recommended by Generative Somatics, which is the trauma therapy practice of Staci Haines, author of The Survivor's Guide to Sex. RESOURCES FOR CREATING ACCOUNTABILITY (consent, apologies, etc.) -We Are All Survivors, We Are All Perpetrators/What to Do When... http://zinelibrary.info/we-are-all-survivors-we-are-all-perpetrators-what-do-when This is a zine compiled from the Rolling Thunder article We Are All Survivors, We Are All Perpetrators and the pamphlet What to Do When Someone Tells You That You Violated Their Boundaries, Made Them Uncomfortable or Committed Assault. The first article is an in depth discussion of the ideas of sexual assault and boundary crossing, and the language we have to talk about them. It talks about the strengths and the shortcomings of all these things, as they currently stand, and opens up a lot of questions about how our language around consent and violation isn't nearly as complex as the experiences people live. The second article is an excellent, detailed list of suggestions about what someone should do when they are called out for sexual assault or boundary violation. -See No, Speak No, Hear No available at www.dorisdorisdoris.com/zines.html and http://www.pomegranatecollective.org/index.php?merch This zine is a collection of writings (and drawings) on rape and sexual assault, including discussion questions, writing from a man about how he reacted when called out on his behavior, writings from survivors of rape and assault and more. -Taking The First Step: Suggestions To People Called Out For Abusive Behavior http://zinelibrary.info/taking-first-step-suggestions-people-called-out-abusive-behavior This is a beautifully rendered zine version of Wispy Cockle's article about what people should do when called out for abusive behavior. It comes from Wispy's own experience as someone who was called out by people other than the survivor, and after a long process it came out that the survivor didn't think Wispy had behaved abusively. As such, these are excellent suggestions for people who don't believe that they behaved abusively, and also for people who know they have. These suggestions are aimed towards creating a culture of accountability, minimizing drama and the amount of harm created, and opening dialogue instead of defensiveness and vitriol. -Ask First! Zine http://zinelibrary.info/ask-first http://copythatdistro.wordpress.com/ This concise zine has a number of great resources on consent, survivor support, and perpetrator accountability that I haven't seen elsewhere. It includes discussions on how to go about seeking consent, some info that outlines different forms of abuse (not to mention what equitable relationships look like), a description of different phases that abusers tend to cycle through, some original thoughts around survivor support and self-care, and some tips for being an active listener. It also includes some info on being a responsible partner and a framework for reducing drama in difficult conversations. A well-rounded and accessible resource. -Don't Be a Dick http://zinelibrary.info/dont-be-dick-0 This is a brave zine about consent and sexual violence, written by a white man and intended primarily for heterosexual men. The author takes a courageous leap with this zine and tells a brief story about realizing he crossed a partner's sexual boundaries in a past relationship, and what he did with that realization. The author additionally lays out a description of rape culture and talks about the ways that porn can fuck you up. Be sure to check out the cover art: riot cops with penis-shaped batons. -Learning Good Consent available at www.dorisdorisdoris.com/zines.html or for free at www.phillyspissed.net (under "Downloads") and www.zinelibrary.info/learning-good-consent This excellent zine collects writings from a number of people about learning consent. It includes writing on embodied consent, returning from dissociation, learning good consent for queer folx, and consent for perpetrators (as well as a script for a consent workshop!). -Let's Talk Consent available on phillyspissed.net This is an excellent trifold pamphlet on consent put out by the Hysteria Collective, a now-defunct group working on radical responses to sexual assault. -Let's Talk About Consent, Baby available on phillyspissed.net This zine is a compilation of writings about consent by the Down There Health Collective (also worth checking out is their article on consent - "CONSENT sex and communication" - published on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/downtherehealth ). It talks about definitions of consent, as well as the idea that consent isn't something black and white, but something complicated that most (probably all) people have messed up on. -Questions About Consent http://www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/consent.html This is the famous list of questions - for discussion and self-reflection - on consent, reproduced in digital form. It is included in all the above consent zines, as well. -Stop It Now! Helpline 1-888-PREVENT (1-888-773-8368) (Monday to Friday, 9:00AM to 6:00PM EST) http://www.stopitnow.org This is a toll-free number for adults who are at risk for sexually abusing a child, for friends and family members of sexual abusers and/or victims, and for parents of children with sexual behavior problems. All calls are confidential and will be answered by a trained staff member. (They encourage people to report to the legal system, but they will not report anyone themselves.) If you need someone to talk to, but you're afraid to start the conversations, calling the helpline may be a good first step. -National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) 1-800-787-3223 (TTY) http://www.ndvh.org/ This is a 24-hour hotline that operates 365 days a year, and not only offers support to survivors of domestic violence, but also to perpetrators of domestic violence. Their website also has a variety of resources about domestic violence and abuse. -Abuse Is Not S/M & S/M Is Not Abuse http://resourcewoman.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Abuse_is_Not_SM_and_SM_is_Not_Abuse_-_A_Checklist.7185815.doc This is an article published by the Northwest Network in Seattle, which clearly outlines the differences between S/M play and abuse. Also published as a printed trifold pamphlet. -Why Misogynists Make Great Informants: How Gender Violence in Movements Enables State Violence misogyny, community accountability, and informants http://www.truth-out.org/why-misogynists-make-great-informants59966 http://zinelibrary.info/why-misogynists-make-great-informants-how-gender-violence-left-enables-state-violence-radical-moveme Starting with the story of Brandon Darby - a well-known white radical organizer and infamous misogynist, who turned out to be an FBI informant - this article lays out a clear argument about why accountability and working to ender gender violence are so essential to creating resilient radical movements. The author goes on to describe the history of women in famous civil rights organizations like the Black Panthers and her own personal experiences in contemporary radical people of color movements, all the while demonstrating how misogynists and homophobes work to destabilize and destroy movement building, whether or not they're being paid by the state to do so, whether or not they are actually hired infiltrators or simply happen to be working in the state's interests. Basically, the point is that snitches and unaccountable misogynists do the same work - and are sometimes the same people. Accountability makes it harder for snitches to destroy our movements. -Beginners Guide to Responsible Sexuality http://zinelibrary.info/beginners-guide-responsible-sexuality also available on phillyspissed.net under "Downloads" This zine was written by a collective of "people experiencing male privilege" and is specifically aimed towards men in heterosexual relationships. It's a good primer and first step to get you thinking about what responsible sexuality means and what it looks like. -Suggestions to People Called Out for Abusive Behavior http://www.fruitiondesign.com/dealwithit/02wispy.php This is a digital version of the article reproduced in this zine. It's great food for thought, and an awesome guide, for people who have been called out for abusive behavior and don't know what to do - or don't believe that their behavior was abusive. -Apologies and Conflict Resolution http://www.crinfo.org/CK_Essays/ck_apology.jsp An in-depth article, from a conflict resolution encyclopedia of sorts, on how to give for-real apologies that are meaningful and not half-assed. -Anger and anger management http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/anger/ Another conflict resolution encyclopedia article, this one talks in-depth about anger and gives some methods for directing or calming the emotions that lead to angry (and abusive) outbursts. Also check out the articles on "Fear" and "Guilt and Shame" referenced in the "Community Response" section below. -The Moviegoer by Walker Percy This cult classic novel details the life of a man living in New Orleans who only feels alive when he's going to the movies. Though it wasn't intended to be such, this book helped me make a lot of connections between different aspects of psychology and boundary-crossing behavior. -Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti This book is a collection of some awesome essays around creating a world of sex-positive consent where consent is based on a positive and enthusiastic "yes" instead of just an absence of "no." Born of the blog age, individual essays are "tagged" with phrases so you can browse through the book based on relevance to particular subject areas like "Is Consent Complicated?," "Manliness," "Sexual Healing," "Here and Queer," and so on. There are a lot of essays in here that explore models of masculinity that are pro-consent, conceptions of sex that provides alternatives to ones that support damaging attitudes about sex, queer identities, taboos, surviving sexual assault, and so on. Also check out the blog where contributing authors continue to publish articles: http://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com -Power and Equality Wheels http://www.ncdsv.org/publications_wheel.html The National Center for Domestic and Sexual Violence published a number of graphics which are "wheels" that display dynamics involved in situations relating to abuse. These are all modeled on the "Power and Control Wheel." Of particular note are Power and Control Wheel and the Equality Wheel which were both developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs in Duluth, MN. These two wheels in particular provide useful models for understanding which behaviors are abusive and, conversely, how to change those behaviors into ones that promote and support equality. -From the Depths Accountability Statement http://fromthedepths.info/news1.html The drummer for the band From the Depths was called out for having sex with people without disclosing his herpes beforehand. The band published a couple of articles on their website detailing his accountability process, and gives a sense of how accountability processes have to be flexible, adapting to changing circumstances, in order to maintain a substantive commitment to accountability. -My World http://www.skatedork.org/fifteen/theband/myworld.htm This is a series of zines by Jeff Ott, some of which contain writings about his experiences working through the realization that he has sexually assaulted and raped and also finding a personal path towards healing. Issues 1.5, 5, and 9 contain his thoughts and experiences around sexual assault and healing. -Refusing to be a Man by John Stoltenberg COMMUNICATION AND NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION -Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg Sort of the canonical text for alternative, constructive communication in radical circles. There are some things about nonviolent communication (NVC) that some folks find problematic, but it's possibly the best place to start if you want to learn a method of effective and validating communication. -Center for Nonviolent Communication http://www.cnvc.org They are lots of products for sale on the site, which makes me a little uncomfortable, but also (under "What is NVC") there are some free resources and a long bibliography. -Nonviolent Communication Homepage http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com Among other things, under "About NVC" there is an NVC article archive organized by topic. It includes headings like conflict resolution & mediation, interpersonal and intimate relationships, and activism and social change. Communication Skills http://crinfo.org/CK_Essays/ck_communication_skills.jsp This is the conflict resolution encyclopedia's article on effective communication skills. Active Listening http://crinfo.org/CK_Essays/ck_active_listening.jsp And their article on active listening (for more on active listening, also see articles in Support zine, What Do We Do When #3and Ask First! - mentioned under "Survivor Support," "Community Response," and "Accountability," respectively.) -Please, Just Listen by Ray Houghton http://lwgms.wikidot.com/please-just-listen This poem falls somewhere between a protest and a plea, naming all the things that commonly pass for listening actively to the voices of oppressed people, and telling the reader what true listening consists of. -What's Wrong with I-Statements http://www.janebluestein.com/articles/whatswrong.html This is an excellent article by Jane Bluestein about potential for manipulative power that "I-statements" have, especially in relationships that already have a power imbalance, and provides some discussion of alternatives. "I-statements" are sort of the bread and butter of nonviolent communication, so this article also provides a useful critique of the standard for good communication in radical circles. -Escalation-limiting Language http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation-limiting_language This article talks about escalation and how it can often be counter-productive when people are trying to resolve conflict. It also provides practical advice and some methods for how to limit the amount of escalation created between people involved in a conflict. -Communication Fundamentals Available from the Lunacy Distro: http://www.radicalmentalhealth.net This hefty little zine is a fully illustrated manual on non-violent communication and the process of learning to identify and communicate your needs responsibly. It has a comic-style illustration of common patterns in aggressive and violent communication, as well as patterns in healthy, assertive, and nonviolent communication. The illustrations are contrasted side-by-side, so it provides a great model for learning how to transition from one mode of communication to the other. It's cute (animal illustrations!) and also bulky enough to be useful. A great resource for conflict-mediation as well as improving your personal relationship dynamics. -Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton My official reaction to Blanton is that he's kind of a tool and kind of brilliant. He's a therapist with an activist background, and basically, his premise is that everybody lies to other people, either consciously or because they're also lying to themselves. He says these lies are main source of stress and communication problems, as he has seen them in his practice. I haven't read this book yet - just a number of interviews with Blanton - but I see his approach as a sort of kick-in-the-pants complement to nonviolent communication. What he talks about is about telling the truth, even (and especially) when it's the truth you're most afraid of. He's not politically correct by any stretch of the imagination, and there are some things about him I definitely have problems with, but it's worth checking out. -Also, see two books listed under the Trauma section: Healing Sex/The Survivor's Guide and Aftershock. Both of these talk about how to be aware of what you're feeling and how to stay present in those emotions. If you don't know what emotions you're experiencing, it follows pretty easily that you can't communicate those emotions. COMMUNITY RESPONSE, CONFLICT MEDIATION, SUPPORTING ACCOUNTABILITY -Getting Past No: Negotiating With Difficult People by William Ury This is a sort of canonical book in the field of conflict resolution. I haven't read it, but I've seen it recommended all over the place. You can read a book summary here: http://www.beyondintractability.org/booksummary/10438/ -Communication and Conflict Mediation http://zinelibrary.info/communication-and-conflict-resolution This is a booklet from a conflict resolution workshop by the Orange County Dispute Settlement Center. It provides a good introduction to the theory of conflict resolution, and a good overview of the basic methods and approaches. -A checklist for intermediaries in a dispute or conflict http://www.beyondintractability.org/checklists/peacebuilding_intermediaries.jsp This article is a useful resource for anyone acting as an intermediary between people involved in a situation of sexual violence (or any other conflict), to provide some orientation and to help prepare for doing the mediation. -A checklist for the disputing parties in a conflict. http://www.beyondintractability.org/checklists/organization_adversaries.jsp A helpful resource for people who are seeking mediation for a conflict they have; it would be good for those people's support to talk with them about the items in this list. -Guilt and Shame http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/guilt_shame/?nid=1151 This is an article on the role that guilt and shame can have in conflicts - especially the roles they can play in conflict escalation or resolution. The part that talks about shame is excellent; it talks about common responses to shame that also aggravate conflict, and about how to address shame constructively. The part about guilt I have more mixed feelings about; it talks about how guilt can be used as a motivating factor towards conflict resolution, but it is also pro-guilt and pro-moralism. Though this is part of a much longer conversation, I feel that it's a lot more constructive to work towards ethics (i.e. context-based understandings of what is and isn't acceptable) instead of moralism (absolute, divisive prescriptions of what is "good" and "bad" behavior). -Fear http://www.beyondintractability.org/action/essay.jsp?id=26867&nid=1149 This is an article about the role fear plays in the creation and escalation of conflict. It focuses mostly on conflict between groups and nations, but still holds some valuable ideas that can be applied to conflicts between individuals or within a smaller community. Also, check out the reference to "Anger and anger management" under the "Creating Accountability" section. -Conflict Resolution Circles http://zinelibrary.info/conflict-resolution-circles http://www.rockdovecollective.org/fyi/conflict/ This is a single-page handout that outlines how to use "circle processes" for conflict mediation and communal healing of harm. By the Rock Dove Collective of New York City. In the handout, they recommend that people read the book Peacemaking Circles by Kay Pranis for more information. The zinelibrary link has a sample script for facilitators to use, and the Rock Dove link has some additional text describing what circle processes are and providing some additional guidelines for facilitation. -Revolution in Conflict: Anti-Authoritarian Approaches to Resolving and Transforming Conflict and Harm http://zinelibrary.info/revolution-conflict-anti-authoritarian-approaches-resolving-and-transforming-conflict-and-harm http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/26976 This is an audio recording of a workshop/lecture on anti-authoritarian approaches to conflict resolution and transformation, taking a look at methods like mediation and restorative justice from an anarchist standpoint. (A written transcript is also available at zinelibrary.info ) Unlike mainstream conceptions of mediation, the approach outlined in this workshop is not about simply restoring the status quo, but rather moving towards social transformation.  And it is fucking awesome.  It's jam-packed with gems.  The presenter has overwhelmingly evident experience -- she's negotiated gang truces, facilitated circles between groups from two to two hundred folks, and with situations as serious as attempted murder plus robbery.  Much of what she says about using community healing circles seems directly applicable to situations where communities want to create accountability for sexual violence. Towards the end of the lecture, Danielle also gives practical advice on the eternally gnarly question of "How do we approach people who refuse to participate in a mediation process?"  And the advice makes sense, though it may be tricky to implement accountably. -Suggestions for Relationship Conflicts http://crinfo.org/suggestions/relationships.jsp This is an extensive article that contains a few fairly simple rules and guidelines that are often helpful in relationship conflicts (whether between friends, romantic partners, family members or what have you). The article also provides links to additional information on each topic and information about where to find more help if these guides don't work. -Conflict Resolution Core Knowledge Essays http://www.crinfo.org/resources/ck-essays.jsp A compilation of conflict resolution "core knowledge" essays including things like Active Listening, How to Select a Dispute Resolution Process, Communication Skills and Techniques, Community Dispute Resolution, De-Escalation, Escalation, Facilitation, How to Find a Mediator, How to Find an Arbitrator, Interpersonal Conflict, Mediation, Nonviolence, Power, Sanctions and Incentives, and Interpersonal Violence Prevention. -Trauma - the Vortex of Violence http://www.traumahealing.com/somatic-experiencing/art_trauma.html This article by Peter Levine (author of Waking the Tiger, mentioned under "Trauma") talks about how experiencing trauma can lead people to commit violence later, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence, and it gives some ideas about how to heal and prevent trauma. -Navigating Crisis Handout http://theicarusproject.net/populareducationmaterials/navigatingcrisishandout http://zinelibrary.info/icarus-project-navigating-crisis-handout A single-sheet zine by the Icarus Project intended to help people respond better to those who are in the middle of emotional crisis. It has a list of detailed suggestions for people doing crisis response, talks specifically about how to respond to those who are feeling suicidal, and it also have a brief description of Advance Directives (legal documents where somebody spells out how they want to be treated if they're institutionalized and not able to speak coherently for themselves). Also included are resources for learning more on all these topics. -Philly Stands Up and Philly's Pissed www.phillyspissed.net Probably the best-known DIY radical organization providing a model for community response to sexual assault, and for accountability in particular. There are a few articles available website about on their method and approach under "Articles." One is a joint interview with Philly Stands Up and Philly's Pissed from the Give Me Back zine - it includes the nitty gritty on how they work and sustain themselves, lists some resources (and songs for a mix tape) and so on. The other article is a set of three pieces of writing that are reflections on the work, approach, analysis, energy, and passion of Philly's Pissed and Philly Stands Up. They also have fuck tons of free zines available for download on their site. -What Do We Do When available for free (issues #2 and #3 only) on phillyspissed.net under "Downloads" or contact the author: properteaistheft@riseup.net What Do We Do When is a series of beautifully made zines on community response to sexual assault. They come out of Australia and often compile articles and excerpts from other places, but also include interviews and original articles. They are some of the best zines I've ever read. -An Activist Approach to Domestic Violence available for free on phillyspissed.net under "Downloads" This zine gives a radical perspective on more mainstream conceptions of what domestic violence is and what it looks like. Then it goes into an in depth account of organizing a specific event around domestic violence and awareness, and has five interviews with domestic violence activists. Also includes an extensive bibliography. -Thoughts About Community Support Around Intimate Violence available on phillyspissed.net under "Downloads" or at www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/IntViolzine.pdf This zine came out of a discussion group about how to do community response to intimate violence, and provides an outline for how such a group might operate. It includes suggestions for how to do good support for people who have recently experienced intimate violence, both the survivor and the abuser. There are also ideas for how to do both physical and emotional support, as well as support to help folks start to understand what they've experienced and take responsibility for their actions. (This last form of support they call "transformative support.") Finally, they include some stories from their personal lives to give an idea of how complicated things can get. -Our Own Response available at http://www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/ourownresponse.html and a cleaner version: http://www.denveronfire.org/?page_id=486 also available in zine form at http://dorisdorisdoris.com/zines This is a zine about dealing with domestic violence in radical ways; it provides an extensive outline of different roles that people could play, in a truly community-centered approach, and an idea of what accountability could look like. -For Crying Out Loud's Aggressor Accountability zine http://forcryingoutloud206.wordpress.com This zine is a basic introduction to the idea of community response to sexual violence. It lays out some basic terms, context, and analysis. Then there are two sections -- one for supporting survivors and the other for holding aggressors accountable -- that model what people in a variety of roles (parents, bandmates, acquaintances, co-workers, etc.) could do or say to be supportive of survivors and accountability, and it also provides examples of things that people might say or do that undermine support to both survivors and accountability. -World Without Sexual Assault: For A Community Response to Sexual Assault http://zinelibrary.info/world-without-sexual-assault-community-response-sexual-assault This newspaper was put together by a group of people working on community response to sexual assault in Melbourne, Australia. It includes articles on community self defense, safer spaces, grieving, survivor support, consent (with lots of examples of language/questions to use!), a litany of reactions to assault, and some articles on restorative justice (including an account of an actual restorative justice intervention in a situation of sexual assault), among other topics. -Thinking Through Perpetrator Accountability http://www.crimethinc.com/rt This article appeared in Rolling Thunder #8 (which can be ordered via the site above; a full .pdf of the issue will eventually be posted to the website, as well). Written as a guide to crafting constructive accountability processes, this is one of the most thorough, nuanced, and practical writings about creating accountability processes that I've ever come across. Not only does it hash out tangibly useful frameworks for different aspects and stages of accountability, it also outlines the questions and points of consideration that will be important to discuss in crafting an accountability process that is adapted to the particular circumstance involved. Furthermore, the article tackles a number of complicated and tricky topics like mutual abuse, the use of accountability-support positions to relieve male guilt or enact survivor vengeance, the ways that perpetrators' inappropriate disclosure can perpetuate abusive dynamics, and a whole host of other issues. Throughout the whole article, the author shows a great deal of compassion for perpetrators, consistently emphasizing that they also need support and healing. The author's extensive consideration and depth of experience are readily apparent from start to finish. -Hollow Water by Bonnie Dickie available at the National Film Board of Canada: http://www.nfb.ca/ Hollow Water is a documentary about an Ojibway reservation in Manitoba that began using a variation of their traditional healing circle to create healing in the wake of endemic, widespread sexual and physical abuse on the reservation. Instead of sending offenders into the "justice" and court system, people on the reservation used the healing circles (which brought together survivors and perpetrators) as a way to allow offenders to identify their own problems and begin confronting their own abuse. (The reservation has been using this system since the late 80s; for more info, check out: http://www.iirp.org/library/vt/vt_bushie.htm) -Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women Edited by James Ptacek This book is a compilation of essays by scholars and activists alike about using restorative justice to respond to violence against women. Though I haven't read it yet, it seems to provide an exceptional overview of different methods and modes that have been put into practice in this realm, and also provide critiques of those practices and their limitations. One review says the authors tackle questions addressing themes like, "how we balance offender accountability and victim safety. Is restoration enough, or does justice require redemption and liberation? Where does (and can) justice happen? How should our responses address the racism, colonialism, poverty, and heterosexism that undergird gendered violence?" Among the contributors are Mimi Kim (founder of Creative Interventions) and Andrea Smith (co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence). -"Conversations with Men about Women's Violence: Ending Men's Violence by Challenging Gender Essentialism" by Tod Augusta-Scott in the book Narrative Therapy: Making Meaning, Making Lives, edited by Catrina Brown and Tod Augusta-Scott Preview available on books.google.com This article talks about the author's experience as a counselor working with men who have been abusive towards women. He has found that the most successful tactic for leading the men to take responsibility for their own abuse goes against the grain of his original feminist training. The tactic that he's found to be most effective involves recognizing that there are narratives beyond (but still including) the dominant narrative that power and control motivate men to be abusive. When he seeks out, acknowledges, and recognizes the more complex, overlapping stories motivating abusive men's actions, he finds his intervention to be more successful. In particular, he no longer shuts abusive men down when they start talking about their stories as survivors of abuse. The common wisdom is that emphasizing these stories is a manipulative tactic that abusers use to avoid responsibility for their abuse. He has found, however, that when he actually draws this conversation out into the light, and validates what the men are saying, abusive men are actually more likely to take responsibility for their own abuse (with the proper facilitation). He finds this to be true even when an abusive man is saying that a woman he is involved with is abusive to him in return. As part of his shift in perceptions, he has come to believe that women's violence can be abuse, and that it is not always merely self-defense. This new understanding led him first to identify and then challenge the gender essentialism inherent in the prevailing narrative about men's violence towards women: the gender essentialism that understands men to be the power-wielding aggressors and women the powerless victims. Augusta-Scott makes it clear, however, that "acknowledging women's violence does not necessitate concluding that women and men perpetrate abuse equally, in terms of the degree, frequency, or effects of the abuse," and that "often men alone perpetrate abuse in relationships; sometimes women and men abuse each other; and occasionally, only women perpetrate abuse." He also discusses at length the ways that men will try to use their history as survivors to avoid responsibility for their abuse, and he discusses the methods he uses to challenge and unravel this evasion. He is not arguing against feminism or the existence of rape culture; rather, he is advocating a shift in perceptions and a change of tactics in the effort to stop men's violence against women. Indeed, he says his "central political beliefs in this work are that men's violence towards women is oppressive; men's violence is strongly influenced by sexism; and men need to take full responsibility for their abusive behavior." The article describes the specific methods Augusta-Scott uses, when inviting instead of shutting down these conversations, to facilitate men's ownership and termination of their abuse. If you would like a full copy of this article, email accountabilityzine@gmail.com I have digital versions of this and other articles by Augusta-Scott and his permission to share them with others. -Fight Rape: Dealing With Our Shit http://zinelibrary.info/dealing-our-shit-six-years-mens-group-and-accountability-work http://forcryingoutloud206.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/1fightrape1.pdf http://www.profaneexistence.org/distro/ This is a 100+ page zine put out by the now-defunct group Dealing With Our Shit, out of Minneapolist, MN. The group started out as a men's group and then were thrust into the middle of a situation that required them to start mentoring aggressors of sexual assault. They did that work for six years before getting burned out, and this is a document of all the lessons they learned over six years of mentoring work. There are a number of interviews, essays, articles, and stories included - and threaded throughout the zine is a description of one accountability process that actually worked in terms of engaging the aggressor and leading to healing, closure, and transformation (which is a rare story to hear). There are a couple pages in the zine, which are excerpts from a zine published in the early 80s, with some dubious claims that women cannot rape and gay men having sex cannot rape one another. Other than those few pages, however, this is gold: lots of mistakes to learn from and wisdom to act as a guide. (The first two links are not imposed .pdfs, so they don't print out as zines; to make further photocopies, you can purchase a zine from the third link to use as a template.) -Experiments in Transformative Justice by the Challenging Male Supremacy Project in NYC http://zapagringo.blogspot.com/2010/06/challenging-male-supremacy-project.html An article written for Left Turn magazine by a group called the Challenging Male Supremacy Project in NYC. Seeing a lack of cisgendered (i.e. people who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth and the gender identity they were raised with) males in the anti-violence movement, they organized a nine-month Study into Action group, with significant input on a curriculum from women, queer, and trans organizations who took the role of "Accountability and Support Partners" for the group. This article describes some of their structure and process, as well as some of the things they have learned. It also contains this insight from their collective experience with accountability processes: "Through facilitating or supporting various accountability processes, we've also learned that men who have caused harm are often easier to reach if they are engaged by people they already trust, and are frequently more likely to be accountable if they can maintain pre-existing relationships or even build new ones. When we address the problem through this lens, it becomes clear that the responses often employed to address male violence-public shaming, physical punishment, exile from spaces or a community, calling the police or just doing nothing-are at best insufficient and at worst actually counterproductive. Demonization, isolation, retaliatory violence or state intervention not only lead to partial or ineffective solutions, but ultimately can be destructive for all those scapegoated and targeted by the prison industrial complex." (The article also contains contact info for the group.) -Violence Intervention Story Project http://www.stopviolenceeveryday.org This is an audio-documentary project that is an offshoot of Creative Interventions (a group affiliated with INCITE!; see "Local Groups for more info). The project is collecting people's stories about instances in which they intervened in situations interpersonal violence or abuse. The focus here is on everyday people, not professionals or non-profits; furthermore, they focus on community-based interventions and those which do not involve cops, social services, or child protective services. The archive is growing and actively seeking more stories (and more collaborators). -The Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence This book is an extensive anthology of writings about organizing to end violence against women of color, put together by INCITE!, a grassroots organization of women of color working to end violence against women. Of particular interest is the chapter called "Taking Risks: Implementing Grassroots Community Accountability Strategies, by Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA)." -The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Partner Abuse in Activist Communities available for download at http://www.incite-national.org/media/docs/0985_revolution-starts-at-home.pdf or by sending $8-12 + $2 postage to 336 40th St. #4; Oakland, CA 94609 This is a giant whopper of a zine - weighing in at upwards of 100 full-sized pages - that compiles many different stories of different people have used community accountability in practice. It was put together over the space of four years by some of awesome people inspierd by INCITE! They are currently in search of a publisher, to make it book-form. The zine was put together out of a desire to break the silence about partner abuse within activist communities - especially communities of color, queer- and trans people of color communities - and in order to gather stories about how people were using community accountability strategies in real life. -Community Accountability Principles/Concerns/Strategies/Models http://www.incite-national.org/index.php?s=93 This document by INCITE! includes some principles and questions to ponder, then enumerates a number of strategies that could be used to create accountability and some working models from groups and movements already implementing accountability in their work. -Community Accountability Within People of Color Progressive Movements http://www.incite-national.org/index.php?s=94 Also put together by INCITE!, this document is the result of some long conversations about gender violence and accountability within people of color progressive movements. It sketches and details many questions and concerns that people have regarding gender violence and accountability, and also enumerates some of the specific problems and patterns that commonly arise within the movements. (For example, it details ways that respected organizers who are called out often use their power to avoid accountability, and provides a pretty convincing argument for why such folks should step back from organizing positions in order to be accountable.) Though it is written for the context of people of color movements, it is highly relevant to those in movements that aren't specifically people-of-color movements. -Alternatives to Police available at http://www.zinelibrary.info/alternatives-police or Rose City Copwatch /PO Box 12353/Portland, OR 97202 This zine by the folks at Rose City Copwatch is the result of a year of research into alternatives to police that have already been put into action, with a focus on non-professional and non-state projects. It provides a lot of material to inspire new projects, along with critiques and questions for those projects listed. It also includes an extensive bibliography for further reading. -Peer Counseling Basics http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/peer.html This article is a basic introduction to the theory and practice of peer counseling/co-counseling, and provides an outline of how it could work. In essence, it is a more formalized approach to everyday DIY therapy. It also provides some practical tips about how to do this sort of thing more effectively. -Encouraging Bystander Intervention for Sexual Violence Prevention http://jdfoub.people.wm.edu/manuscript%20foubert%20tabachnick%20schewe%202006.pdf This is a somewhat formal research article on the idea of "bystander intervention." It discusses psychological research regarding the factors that influence whether bystanders intervene in situations of abuse or potential abuse. It talks about the advantages of centering sexual assault prevention programs around bystander intervention and empowerment, and gives evaluations of different bystander intervention programs that have already been put into practice. At the end, it includes an extensive bibliography that references other research into this and other relevant topics. -Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention http://www.nsvrc.org/_cms/fileUpload/Projects/Engaging_Bystanders.pdf This is a full-color booklet talking about the idea of bystander intervention as a method of preventing sexual violence. It gives background, theory, and key information, and provides a number of exercises and activities that essentially form the basis for an in-depth workshop on empowering people to intervene when they are bystanders to situations where sexual violence appears likely. -Step Up http://www.stepupprogram.org/ This is a college-oriented organization that provides a curriculum for bystander intervention trainings around a variety of issues, including disordered eating, depression, alcohol abuse, and sexual abuse. They have extensive materials available for free on their website, including a student guide for bystander intervention and a facilitator's guide for teaching bystander intervention workshops: http://www.stepupprogram.org/docs/STEPUP_StudentAthleteGuide.pdf http://www.stepupprogram.org/docs/STEPUP_FacilitatorGuide.pdf -Response Ability: A Complete Guide to Bystander Intervention by Alan Berkowitz http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/response-ability-a-complete-guide-to-bystander-intervention/7133446 Also available at a discount rate or at bulk rates by contacting Berkowitz directly: http://www.alanberkowitz.com/popup_book.php This is a slim but unique book which discusses a wide cross-section of issues involved in bystander intervention - including the psychology of choosing to be a bystander instead of intervening, understanding perpetrator behavior, a discussion of options for intervening (when and where), and a discussion of the skills needed to intervene effectively. Also check out the various articles available on his website, as well as this bibliography: http://www.alanberkowitz.com/bystander_behavior.php -No Is Not Enough: Helping Teenagers Avoid Sexual Assault By Caren Adams, Jennifer Fay, and Jan Loreen-Martin This book outlines strategies for parents of teenage children to discuss sexual assault and its prevention. In clear and accessible language, the authors define consent and sexual assault while solidly refuting rape myths, focusing on the realities of acquaintance rape and the varieties of more subtle coercion and force commonly used in sexual situations. An especially thought-provoking "continuum of force" provides an insightful model for exploring the nuances of consent. The book also discusses media influences, the role of self-esteem, addressing sexual harassment and abuse at work and in relationships, and supporting teenage survivors. The book is difficult to recommend because of the extremely patronizing attitudes expressed by the authors about young people, and because it lacks any acknowledgement whatsoever of same-sex desire or sexuality. However, reading parts of the book with an eye towards applying its insights to horizontal peer relationships may provide some useful material to supplement nuanced, self-critical conversations about consent and positive sexuality. -Consent Workshop Facilitator Zine http://nwbreakthesilence.wordpress.com/zine-project/ Northwest Break the Silence, a student group at Seattle University, developed a brilliant, in-depth consent workshop through a process of discussions with a variety of radicals, trial runs, and constant feedback. They put everything they designed and collected into this zine, which provides a readily usable workshop for anyone who's looking to facilitate a consent workshop. (Break the Silence's consent workshop is the best one I've ever attended thus far.) Also, check out the cute robot-themed zine called "Consent is Part of my Operating System" that's posted to the same website. -Men Unlearning Rape available at http://zinelibrary.info/men-unlearning-rape or at phillyspissed.net under "Downloads" This zine speaks from the experience of men who have been facilitating workshops for a wide variety of men (from fraternities and the military to high schools and men working in the community) about rape and rape culture. They talk about strategies that work for engaging men with the idea of rape and its reality. They provide some concrete models for how to begin these conversations, and also share the things they find difficult and helpful for themselves in doing this kind of work. Ought to be a helpful zine for folks (especially people who are perceived as men) who want to talk with other men and challenge them on their assumptions and behavior. -Let's Talk: Adults Talking to Adults about Child Sexual Abuse http://www.stopitnow.org/sites/stopitnow.rivervalleywebhosting.com/files/webfm/green/LetsTalk.pdf Stop It Now!'s practical, 14-page guide to talking to people who you are concerned may be at risk for sexually abusing children, or who you are concerned may be actually sexually abusing children. It gives lots of specific tips and strategies about how to start a conversation as difficult as this one, and how to make sure the conversation is helpful and sufficient; the information in the booklet can easily be generalized to other situations where there is a concern that sexual abuse may be happening. The focus of the guide is on early intervention to prevent violence before it happens, or to end violence that is already happening. -Restorative Justice Information Clearinghouse http://www.restorativejustice.org http://www.justiciarestaurativa.org/ (spanish) http://www.justicereparatrice.org/ (french) Restorative justice is a model of responding to harm (or "crime") that focuses on creating dialog between the parties who harmed or were harmed, and eventually finding a way to create healing for those harmed - instead of just doling out punishment, like the standard model of "justice." These websites have a HUGE list of free downloadable articles on restorative justice (under Resources) and an in-depth, excellent treatment of the concepts and methods involved in restorative justice (under Introduction). Restorative justice projects are not always prison-abolitionist, and many work with the police and the courts, but there is still a lot of potential in the principles and practices involved. -generationFIVE http://www.generationfive.org/ Approach: www.generationfive.org/index.asp?sec=3&pg=48 Politics: http://www.generationfive.org/index.asp?sec=3&pg=9 Principles: http://www.generationfive.org/index.asp?sec=3&pg=47 Generation Five is a group based out of the Bay Area that is working to eliminate child sexual abuse by creating community accountability/prevention/support models. They've got an approach they call Transformative Justice, which links healing any one particular trauma to the need for healing social trauma, oppression, and so on. They have some information on TJ on the three webpages listed above. They also have an extensive, 80-page working paper on transformative justice, which is available here (alternatively, contact the Program Director to receive a copy by mail): http://www.stopviolenceeveryday.org/wp-content/uploads/TTJ-Long-final.pdf -Organizing to Challenge Rape Culture http://www.cara-seattle.org/w_challenge.html A bit of a fiery manifesto about organizing to challenge rape culture, written by CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), a Seattle organization that works to create community-based accountability around sexual assault. Inspiring and brings up some thought-provoking ideas about the importance of organizing for accountability. -Transforming a Rape Culture (2nd Edition) ed. Emilie Buchwald -Conflict Escalation http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation/ This essay describes what escalation is, what sort of damage it creates and when it can be useful, and provides an in-depth, extraordinarily insightful analysis of how the dynamics of escalation operate. This is important to read for people who want to encourage community reconciliation, accountability, and so forth instead of entrenched mutual bitterness. -Limiting Escalation/De-Escalation http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/limiting_escalation This article goes through different factors that tend to limit escalation, then goes on to describe different processes and tactics by which conflict can be de-escalated away from destructive patterns. (Some concrete suggestions and models are included.) Also see the article "Escalation-limiting language" under the "Communication" section above. SURVIVOR SUPPORT/SURVIVOR TRUTH-TELLING when reading these zines, especially for someone who has been called out or someone who is struggling with issues around abusive behavior, it is critical to come from a perspective of believing instead of skepticism; this will make all the difference between understanding the impact of your behavior and staying in denial -Survivor Support Network http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SurvivorSupportNetwork/ This is a listserv created by radicals to network people who are working around survivor support. Some of the objectives they have are to clarify language used around these issues, share tactics that have been used before (in getting survivor support and also in dealing with perpetrators), clarify the expectations different groups have of their communities around issues of survivor support, and generally get organized. -Supporting a Survivor of Sexual Assault (10 Steps) Available at http://brokenbeautifuldowloads.wordpress.com/ and on phillyspissed.net (under "Downloads") This is excellent zine by UBUNTU and Men Against Rape Culture in Durham, NC. It is a primer about the basic ideas involved in good survivor support. -Support available at www.dorisdorisdoris.com/zines (the Spanish version, Apoyo, also available here) or for free online at phillyspissed.net (under "Downloads") This is an incredible, in-depth zine about supporting survivors. It is pretty comprehensive and compiles writings from a number of different writers about how to do survivor support, what sort of complications may arise, and how someone could approach those complications supportively. -Washington Violence Against Women Network: Community http://www.wavawnet.org/Community This series of insightful articles discusses the specific cultural and social factors that affect survivors of sexual abuse (and their access to support) among those who are part of a number of demographic groups: disabled folks, immigrants/refugees, Asian and Pacific Islanders, African-Americans, queer folks, Native American, and people with religious faith -The Politics of Rape: The Victim's Perspective By Diana E.H. Russell This book is based off of a foundation of a series of interviews with female rape survivors. It explores the personal impact of trauma and stigma, victim-blaming and sex role stereotypes, assaults by strangers, acquaintances, and lovers/husbands, rape and racism, and the many social institutions that uphold male violence against women. The stories are woven with each other and a radical feminist framework to make them more than just individual responses. The book concludes with a discussion of rape from the perspective of rapists (based on a man's interviews with them), an analysis of how male sexual violence cements gender oppression, and thoughts on solutions and resistance to male violence. -De Ja Vu, On the Table, and Silence = Death All available at phillyspissed.net (under "Downloads") These are all good zines that give space to survivors telling their stories; the Support zine also shares some survivors' stories. -Take Back the News http://www.takebackthenews.org/ This is a group working around the under-respresentation of sexual assault and rape in the media at large. They provide alternate forums for survivors to tell their stories, and have a large compilation of stories arranged into categories. -Radical Survivor Asheville http://radicalsurvivorasheville.blogspot.com/ A survivor truthtelling and art project based in Asheville, NC. It also anonymously publishes a number of survivors' stories. -Domestic Violence Survivor Stories http://www.dvirc.org.au/HelpHub/Stories/Stories.htm A collection of stories told by survivors of domestic violence, organized into three sections: women who experienced violence at the hands of men; women who experienced violence in lesbian relationships; and men who experienced violence. -Defending Our Lives http://www.cambridgedocumentaryfilms.org/defending.html This is an Academy award winning documentary about domestic violence that tells the stories of three women who were incarcerated for killing their batterers. -No! The Rape Documentary http://notherapedocumentary.org/ This is an internationally acclaimed, feature-length documentary which explores the international reality of rape and sexual assault through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, and activism of African-Americans. It also explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. -Male Survivor http://www.malesurvivor.org/ This is an online resource for male survivors of sexual violence and assault and their allies. Under the "For Survivors" link, it includes some educational information, stories from male survivors, an extensive bibliography of helpful books, discussion boards (topics include things like gay/bi/trans, survivor stories, spirituality, survivors of female abuse, etc), and a directory of some therapists that work specifically with male survivors in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Israel, and South Africa. -Running with Scissors by Augustin Burroughs This paradoxically funny book, written with a clear and constant sense of humor, tells the story of Burrough's coming of age in the middle of abuse (sexual, emotional, and otherwise) and neglect. -Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison -Mysterious Skin: A Novel by Scott Heim -The Color Purple by Alice Walker All of the above are novels (which I haven't read) recommended by Generation Five because of how they talk about surviving sexual abuse. -Guaranteed to Wreck Any Party to get a copy, try contacting the author: itaintlibel@hotmail.com or you can purchase from the Mimi Collective Distro: P.O. Box 21; Vassalboro, ME 04935-0021 or email mamaspitfire@riseup.net This is the only zine I have ever come across that specifically tells the story of a male who experienced sexual abuse and assault. I wish it were more easily available and that there were more zines telling these stories. This is a good place to start, however, if you want to build a greater awareness of the experiences of male survivors. -Reversal of Fortune: The Rape of Men by Women http://www.malesurvivor.org/Reversal_of_Fortune.pdf By Jarrod Reich. This article has problems (it seems to be skeptical of the idea of rape culture, is pro-"justice" system, and has some unfortunate euphemisms for erections), but it does show how sexist and gender-essentialist stereotypes often make women's rape of men completely invisible, and generally considered impossible. It does some good debunking and discussion, and cites social science research; it's a place to begin conversations. I haven't seen any other resources that talk about the potential for women to rape men who are their peers. -The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women (DAHMW) 1-888-7HELPLINE (1-888-743-5754) http://dahmw.org/ DAHMW is an organization and hotline that provides intervention and support services to victims of domestic abuse. They are unique in that they specialize in offering support and services to male victims of spousal and intimate partner violence. Their services are not limited to abused men, however, and they also offer support and services to women in abusive relationships. The site has survivor truthtelling and links to TONS of articles and resources. Of particular note is a study conducted by the hotline that describes the possibility, and the reality, that there are men who survive extreme domestic violence at the hands of female partners. It describes the types of extreme violence reported over the hotline, and talks about forms of control specific to men abused by women. (It is very, very difficult to know how to respond to one of the things described: some women who use false reports of abuse in order to control men they are abusing; though this is a touchy and extremely difficult issue to work with, it's important to discuss especially how this interacts with the important principle of always believing survivors.) The paper also has a bibliography of social science research on the topic: http://dahmw.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/characteristicsofcallers.pdf -Activist Scenes are No Safe Space for Women http://www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/ActivistScenesareNoSafeSpaceforWomen.html This article gives a thorough treatment of the ways victim blaming, denial, minimization, and avoidance around issues of abuse are just as prevalent within activist circles as they are outside them. It also specifically talks about the ways that power and control work with regard to activist abusers, and details the way that misogyny often looks among activist men. -Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project 800-832-1901 http://www.gmdvp.org This website contains information on the similarities and differences between domestic violence in gay and heterosexual relationships. There are a few survivor stories from gay men abused by other gay men, myth debunking about intimate partner abuse in gay relationships, and information about why men (and gay men in particular) stay in such abusive relationships. -Trans and Intersex Survivors of Domestic Violence http://www.survivorproject.org/defbarresp.html This site offers information about trans- and intersex-specific issues regarding support around sexual assault and domestic abuse. It includes some common psychological complications to abuse and accessing services often experienced by people who are trans and intersex, along with legal and institutional problems they often face in these situations. (More articles and stories relevant to trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming people are available here: http://www.survivorproject.org/reading.html) - No More Denying: Facing Woman to Woman Sexual Violence http://www.loribgirshick.com/booklet.html by Lori B. Girshick, this is an article about domestic violence in lesbian relationships; it includes a bibliography for further reading. I've seen this floating around as a zine, but this is the full text of the article. In addition to this article, the author wrote a book called Woman to Woman Sexual Violence: Does She call it Rape?. Also, check out The Revolution Starts at Home, under "Community Response" for more trans and queer truth-telling stories. ANTI-SEXISM/FEMINISM especially for people socialized as male/with male privilege -Said the Pot to the Kettle: Feminist theory for anarchist men http://zinelibrary.info/said-pot-kettle This zine starts out with a great little comic number. It goes on to discuss - from a male, anti-authoritarian perspective - things like gender, womyn-only spaces, sexual assault, reproductive health, and power dynamics. There's a sense of humor throughout, and though it talks a lot about things specific to anarchist/punk subcultures, it is relevant far outside that realm, too. -Social Detox: Resources for Anti-Sexist Men http://bloominginspace.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/social_detox.pdf http://socialdetox.wordpress.com This zine is about challenging masculinity and patriarchy. It presents some radical theory around sexism and patriarchy, and how those connect to other systems of oppression. It has tips for men-folk who want to work on their sexism and learn how they contribute to sexist dynamics, as well as plenty of challenging questions to ponder and to direct discussions. The Wordpress website contains further resources to start men's groups that work towards a different understanding of gender and masculinity, plus tons of other resources besides. (All the zines referenced or recommended in the zine are available on the website.) -Rape Culture 101 http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/rape-culture-101.html A massive indictment of rape culture that provides a way to understand what rape culture looks like in its daily manifestation. Each piece of this massive catalog of manifestations links to a news story that provides an immediate, real-life example of each aspect of rape culture that is discussed. -Words are not fists: some thoughts on how men work to defuse feminist anger http://phillydudes.wordpress.com/ This is an article on how men defuse and control feminist anger through comparing real, but exclusively verbal, anger to physical violence. This is silencing and minimizing, and something to avoid participating in. -Questions for Men's Self-Awareness http://socialdetox.wordpress.com/2007/07/07/getting-to-know-yourself-some-questions-for-men/ These questions are taken from the zine On the Road to Healing (mentioned below). They comprise a series of questions that are aimed towards helping men in the process of recalling and identifying the ways that identities and patterns have been created in their lives. These are questions for exploration and self-awareness, more than pointedly feminist inquiry, but provide a great framework for getting into the specifics of what it means to be a man, of whatever stripe, in this day and place. As a tool for taking a self-inventory, these questions form a great basis from which to continue an exploration of feminism. -On the Road to Healing: a booklet for men against sexism available on phillyspissed.net (under "Downloads") or http://socialdetox.wordpress.com/2007/07/07/on-the-road-to-healing/ This zine contains writings about socialization and growing up male (including a really good, honest conversation among three men about their lives growing up), men changing ways towards pro-feminism, the work men can do to end sexism, an extensive list of questions to aid in the process of self-awareness, and a resource list for further reading and understanding. (The resource list also includes references to men's anti-sexism organizations.) Some of the topics discussed are male body image, surviving abuse and abusing, having difficulty feeling emotion, drug abuse, aggression and control, and lots more. Chock full of personal stories. All the issues of the zine have also been compiled into a book anthology, available here (and on Amazon.com, etc.): http://dualpowerproductions.com/?page_id=18 -Philly Dudes Collective Year One (And a Half) available at http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/1791/ or try emailing toolkit@riseup.net This is a zine put out by the Philly Dudes Collective, a group of people who identify as male, who are working on issues of sexism and male privilege (and how those dynamics work from the "fringes of masculinity"). The zine consists of the group's mission statement, notes from workshops, questions asked as part of discussions, scenarios about sexual assault/sexism for role play/discussion/thought, flyers from events the group has organized, an extensive reading list, and lists of pertinent websites and organizations. Basically, it could serve as a primer for how to start your own men's group. -XY Magazine http://www.xyonline.net/ This is an online space for the exploration of issues of gender and sexuality, the daily issues of men's and women's lives, and practical discussion of personal and social change; it comes specifically from a male perspective, and it has something like 200 articles and then a bunch of links to other sites of interest. -Anti-sexism for Men of Color http://colours.mahost.org/org/notenough.html This is an article specifically written in response to the lack of anti-sexism resources for men of color. It intends to talk about what anti-sexism means for communities who are suffering universal oppression, police brutality (and other forms of state violence), and other issues that white scenes generally don't have to deal with. It offers a pretty thorough list of suggestions and ideas to chew on. Also gives a brief list of suggested readings. -Let Patriarchy Burn! http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no8/burn.html This article speaks from the perspective of radical environmental struggles, but has lots of good points for any sort of radical activist/direct action scene. It outlines how the romantic notion of heroic activism (as well as the black and white worldviews that follow) are linked to patriarchy. The author also discusses how patriarchy tends to look within activist circles, and offers 12 concrete ways for people socialized as men and women to deal with patriarchy in activist circles. It ends with an interview with an older woman who was part of the 70s and early 80s Women's Liberation movement, and provides a list of recommended reading (including theory- or history-oriented books and novels). -Tools for White Guys who are Working for Social Change http://www.xyonline.net/tools.shtml This article is aimed towards white males especially, but also towards other people "socialized in a society based on domination." The article is an extended list of practices people can use to help upend traditional roles of dominance or power they hold. Really good for discussion and awareness raising, and a good guide for how to act. (This is more than just good organizing, it's learning how to listen - and not knowing how to listen is one of the most fundamental behaviors that underlies sexual assault.) -Different Kind of Dude Fest http://differentkindofdudefest.dead-city.org/links.html Lots of links and resources to help people with privilege deal with their shit. Some of the links are obsolete (with classic Internet Impermanence), but plenty of others are still up and active. Great collection of resources. -Anarchafeminism Clearinghouse on the Interweb http://www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/ Check this out for all sorts of further readings, on a whole slew of topics within anarchafeminism. LOCAL GROUPS health collectives, consent collectives, community accountability collectives -HelpOut: https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/helpout If you don't live close to any of the groups listed below, try sending an email to this listserv. It's a growing network of people dedicated to working on issues of consent, accountability, and learning to call out and deal with abusive behaviors. If you live far away from any of these places, another possibility that might be worth looking into is Sex Addicts Anonymous. In addition to having chapters in all but two states, they have online meetings. See the "Addiction/Addictive Coping Mechanisms" section above for further thoughts and details. -Pomegranate Health Collective http://www.pomegranatecollective.org/ http://www.myspace.com/prhc A Chicago-based collective -- they work with physical, mental, reproductive, and sexual health, run a distro, do consent workshops, and so on... -Women and Girls Can Collective Action Network: Community Accountability Project http://womenandgirlscan.org/community-accountability-project/ Another Chicago-based organization, the Community Accountability Project seeks to network organizations in Chicago working on community-based, anti-oppression oriented modes of ending violence against women and girls. They connect interpersonal and structural violence, seek alternatives to the criminal legal system, and work towards community accountability. Among other things, they organize quarterly convenings to dialogue and share resources. -Dealing With Our Shit Out of Minneapolis, this is a largely defunct and burned-out group that worked for a few years specifically on accountability. They did, however, publish a massive zine drawing on their six years of experience mentoring people who sexually assaulted - see "Community Response" section for more info. -Denver On Fire http://www.myspace.com/denveronfire http://www.denveronfire.org/ Based out of Denver, Colorado this group seeks to create a model for addressing sexual assault that embraces a survivor's needs for safety, health, and accountability and which works with the perpetrator and community in meeting a survivor's needs. They also maintain extensive contacts with informal groups and individuals working on survivor support and accountability in other areas. -Generation Five http://www.generationfive.org/ Based out of Oakland, California. They are an organization seeking to end child sexual abuse within five generations, and have a strategy for doing so. Essential to their approach is working with perpetrators to create community-based accountability and healing for the perpetrators. -Creative Interventions http://creative-interventions.org A group based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their project is centered around offering resources to individuals, family members, social network members, or community groups seeking effective, sustainable interventions to family, intimate partner, and other forms of interpersonal violence. The are also co-organizers of a multi-cultural, multi-lingual National Story Collecting Project which is the first documentation project on community-based interventions to family, intimate partner, and other forms of interpersonal violence; the collection will help in understanding what makes interventions successful, and will inspire and inform others who want to create similar interventions (see more at http://www.stopviolenceeveryday.org). -C.L.I.T. Collective http://www.myspace.com/clitcollective Based out of Santa Cruz, California. The Consensual Liberation through Intimate Tactics Collective (C.L.I.T. Collective) is a collective of folks who have come together to open dialog about Sexual/Intimate Violence. CLIT Collective is a radical activist group working to engage in grassroots and community based action and response to sexual and intimate violence. They are giving a couple of workshop series on sexual violence, patriarchy, and radical community responses to such. -Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) http://www.cara-seattle.org/ Based out of Seattle, the founders of CARA envisioned a community organizing approach to addressing rape. Community organizing would allow personal networks, neighborhoods, and populations to use their skills and resources for building communities that resist rape and abuse, support survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and embrace safety and self-determination. CARA organizes for community member participation in support group facilitation training; in-depth dialogue about family/friend-based accountability strategies; and projects that emphasize positive sexuality. -For Crying Out Loud http://www.myspace.com/forcryingoutloud206 http://forcryingoutloud206.wordpress.com Based out of Seattle, Washington this is a group dedicated to preventing, addressing, and talking about sexual assault and perpetrator accountability in an anti-authoritarian setting. They have a men's group, a survivor support group, a consensuality club, a "creepwatch" program and general meetings about community protocol. -Dicentra Collective http://www.dicentracollective.org Based out of Portland, Oregon the Dicentra Collective is a group of people organizing around radical approaches to support and care. In addition to organizing events around chronic pain, harm reduction, prisoner support (during and after incarceration), they also organize events and discussions around survivor support and accountability. Videos of events they have held are available through their website. -World Without http://www.worldwithout.org Based out of Melbourne, Australia World Without is a group of folks working around survivor support, consent, and so on. They put together two issues of a sweet newspaper called World Without (Sexual Assault) that is about supporting survivors, consent, and so on and got it distributed in the local school system. They are also working on compiling digital versions of zines on issues related to sexual assault for distribution. (The email address posted on their website, as of early 2009, unfortunately is busted.) You can contact me at the email address at the beginning of this document if you'd like a digital version of the second issue of their newspaper. -Thunder Collective http://www.myspace.com/thundercollective Based out of Sydney, Australia this is a group of folks coming together to work around issues of survivor support and accountability. One of their goals was to establish a country-wide network of people and collectives working around these issues. -Philly's Pissed and Philly Stands Up http://www.myspace.com/phillyspissedandstandsup http://www.phillyspissed.net http://phillystandsup.wordpress.com/ Based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this are sister collectives. Philly's Pissed works on survivor support and helping survivors express demands and get their needs met. Philly Stands Up, on the other hand, works with perpetrators to create accountability processes and make sure the survivors' demands are being met. -Support New York http://www.supportny.org/ This is a collective based out of New York City, New York. They are dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault, and their aim is to meet the needs of the survivor and to open and maintain a larger dialogue within the community about consent, mutual aid, the accountability of perpetrators, and our society's narrow views of abuse. -Audre Lorde Project - Safe OUTside the System http://www.alp.org/whatwedo/organizing/sos Based in Brooklyn, New York. The SOS Collective works to challenge violence that affects LGBTSTGNC people of color. They are guided by the belief that strategies that increase the police presence and the criminalization of our communities do not create safety. Therefore they utilize strategies of community accountability to challenge violence. -Social Detox http://socialdetox.wordpress.com This is a project based out of Ithaca, NY. They organize a men's group, run an online zine distribution outlet around things like anti-sexism and consent, and encourage discussion around accountability, radical versions of masculinity, and the like. -Down There Health Collective http://www.myspace.com/downtherehealth A group based in Washington, D.C. They work around health, sexuality, gender, and consent. -Can I Kiss You Collective http://www.myspace.com/canikissyoucollective Based out of Richmond, Virginia. They are a consent collective actively giving workshops addressing the importance of consent in our daily life. Their goals are to raise awareness about warped ideas and behaviors surrounding gender, consent, abuse, relationships, sexuality, etc. They want to help create a network for survivors and perpetrators of sexual assault and work together to better ourselves and our communities. -Harm Free Zone NC http://www.southerncoalition.org/node/13 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=43746902071 Based in Durham, NC this is one of a few Harm Free Zone projects that seek to provide tools and trainings to local communities to both strengthen and develop their capacity to confront and transform state violence and interpersonal conflict. They facilitate community-driven strategies and methods to prevent or intervene in incidences of interpersonal conflict and state violence, and they uncover and document intervention practices that already occur within distinct communities and/or networks. -Cooch Care Collective http://www.ibiblio.org/greens/projects/acre/ Based out of Raleigh, North Carolina this is a women's health collective that does work around consent and has given some consent workshops. -Critical Resistance http://www.criticalresistance.org At the 10-year CR anniversary conference, there were at least 10 workshops on community accountability, community response to sexual assault and similar topics. A lot of recent work on accountability seems to be coming out of this orientation. CR is seeking to end the prison system, and destroy the prison-industrial complex, so issues of "what do we do when someone causes harm in our communities" is a big focus. -Critical Resistance Baltimore c/o Fusion Partnerships 1601 Guilfard Ave 2 South Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone: (410) 230-1876 email:crbaltimore@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance Chicago Phone: 718.676.1660 email:crchicago@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance Gainesville P.O. Box 13761 Gainesville, FL 32604 Phone: 352-792-1032 or Toll free: 800-883-4619 email: crfl@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance Los Angeles Phone: 323.238.0596 email: crla@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance New Orleans 930 N. Broad St., New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: 504-304-3784 email: crno@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance NYC 976 Longwood Ave, Bronx, NY 10459 Phone: 718-676-1660 Fax: 718-676-1672 email: crnyc@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance Oakland 1904 Franklin St., Ste. 504, Oakland, CA 94612 Phone: 510-444-0484 Fax: 510-444-2177 email: croakland@criticalresistance.org -Critical Resistance Tampa/St. Petersburg Phone: 718.676.1660 -Critical Resistance Washington D.C. Phone: 202.521.0377 email: cr-dc@criticalresistance.org -INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence http://www.incite-national.org INCITE! is a national grassroots movement in the U.S. seeking to end violence against women and working in particular to end violence against women who are particularly marginalized and part of communities that often face police and state violence: women of color, queer women, broke women, and so on. Towards this end, they've been doing a lot of work on responses to domestic violence and sexual assault that don't involve the police or state in any way. A big part of this work has been discussions and research on accountability and models for accountability. Not all local chapters, however, necessarily focus on this aspect. Below are a couple chapters that seem like they may be interested: -INCITE! Denver http://www.incite-national.org//?s=46&m=15 incite.dnvr@gmail.com Based in Denver, Colorado. Among other things, local organizers will renew efforts this summer to develop organizing strategies to not only resist law enforcement violence, but also to build strong, safe communities that don't rely on violent policing. -INCITE! New Orleans whji_info@yahoo.com Based in New Orleans, Louisiana.