Collective Care for Carceral Transformation: Investigating Mutual Aid's Role in Building Decarceral Futures

This thesis examines how grassroots anti-carceral movements utilize mutual aid to support communities and advance abolitionist praxis. Drawing upon phenomenological interviews conducted with thirteen participants who have either provided or received mutual aid within grassroots organizations, it examines the multifaceted role of mutual aid across three analytical chapters. The first chapter delves into participants’ conceptualizations of mutual aid as community-driven, its capacity to challenge dominant support structures, and its role in fostering social change. The subsequent chapter investigates mutual aid’s alignment with abolitionist politics, presenting it as a vehicle for offering alternative conflict resolution methods. Lastly, the final chapter confronts the challenges encountered within social movements and mutual aid projects, advocating for transformative justice integration as a solution. This research deepens our understanding of mutual aid within anti-carceral movements, underscoring its critical importance as both an essential element of abolitionist praxis and an alternative support system.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Waters, Emilie

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2024 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2024-16266

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/43053