Free : Survivors
A newsletter project of Survived & Punished NY A newsletter project of Survived & Punished NY A newsletter project of Survived & Punished NY
Since 2018, Survived & Punished NY has been developing a quarterly newsletter called Free : Survivors. In 2019, we began mailing copies of Free : Survivors directly to criminalized survivors throughout New York State and across the country. The first two issues of Free : Survivors were limited runs of print only editions that laid some of the groundwork for connecting criminalized survivors to each other and to organizers outside the prison walls.
The creation of this Survived & Punished NY website (survivedandpunishedny.org) allowed for Free : Survivors to publish its online edition in February 2020. The addition of the online newsletter will broaden the reach of Free : Survivors as well as help boost our fundraising to continue the project.
Focus
The Free : Survivors newsletter is a project of Survived & Punished NY, exists to end the criminalization of survivors of gender-based violence, and free those locked up in prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, psychiatric facilities, and in their own homes. We focus on criminalized survivors in New York State, but know that our struggles here are intimately connected to those around the country, and beyond.
Newsletters printed by prison abolitionists for, by and about incarcerated people have a long history. In the U.S., newsletters such as No More Cages and Through the Looking Glass published monthly newsletters to send to women inside prisons throughout the 1970’s and 80’s. These newsletters creatively forged a model for “inside/ outside” organizing that amplified stories and methods of connection by bridging the contact gaps between survivors inside, survivors outside, and their advocates and allies.
Today, groups such as the California Coalition of Women Prisoners (womenprisoners.org), Critical Resistance (criticalresistance.org) and No New Jails (nonewjails.nyc) carry on this tradition of “inside/ outside” newsletters. Survived & Punished NY has joined these abolitionist formations in offering another platform of support to criminalized survivors and building a movement across the prison walls.
Print editions of the Free : Survivors newsletter are critical to getting the art, stories and information in the hands of criminalized survivors. Prison mail protocols do their worst to keep folx from corresponding within and beyond prison walls. The newsletter provides another avenue for criminalized survivors to connect with each other and supporters outside by building an inside/outside dialogue.
Prisons restrict digital access so harshly that viewing Free : Survivors online is not possible for most people inside. People inside are only given restricted email access and must pay exorbitant rates to send or receive messages. Due to the draconian lack of digital access, the printed word is still the most effective way to connect with criminalized survivors across the walls.
The digital editions of Free : Survivors helps share the newsletter with a much broader audience across the internet. This provides an accessible digital archive of past newsletters and opens up new ways for people to support Survived & Punished NY’s abolitionist mission and work. When readers of the digital newsletter generously support Free : Survivors by donating, they are helping to put physical copies of the newsletter directly in the hands of criminalized survivors of gendered violence.
The purpose of an inside/outside newsletter:
Newsletters printed by prison abolitionists for, by and about incarcerated people have a long history. In the U.S., newsletters such as No More Cages and Through the Looking Glass published monthly newsletters to send to women inside prisons throughout the 1970’s and 80’s. These newsletters creatively forged a model for “inside/ outside” organizing that amplified stories and methods of connection by bridging the contact gaps between survivors inside, survivors outside, and their advocates and allies.
Today, groups such as the California Coalition of Women Prisoners (womenprisoners.org), Critical Resistance (criticalresistance.org) and No New Jails (nonewjails.nyc) carry on this tradition of “inside/ outside” newsletters. Survived & Punished NY has joined these abolitionist formations in offering another platform of support to criminalized survivors and building a movement across the prison walls.
Importance of the print editions
Print editions of the Free : Survivors newsletter are critical to getting the art, stories and information in the hands of criminalized survivors. Prison mail protocols do their worst to keep folx from corresponding within and beyond prison walls. The newsletter provides another avenue for criminalized survivors to connect with each other and supporters outside by building an inside/outside dialogue.
Prisons restrict digital access so harshly that viewing Free : Survivors online is not possible for most people inside. People inside are only given restricted email access and must pay exorbitant rates to send or receive messages. Due to the draconian lack of digital access, the printed word is still the most effective way to connect with criminalized survivors across the walls.
Importance of the digital editions
The digital editions of Free : Survivors helps share the newsletter with a much broader audience across the internet. This provides an accessible digital archive of past newsletters and opens up new ways for people to support Survived & Punished NY’s abolitionist mission and work. When readers of the digital newsletter generously support Free : Survivors by donating, they are helping to put physical copies of the newsletter directly in the hands of criminalized survivors of gendered violence.
A Brief History
Since 2018, Survived & Punished NY has been developing a quarterly newsletter called Free : Survivors. In 2019, we began mailing copies of Free : Survivors directly to criminalized survivors throughout New York State and across the country. The first two issues of Free : Survivors were limited runs of print only editions that laid some of the groundwork for connecting criminalized survivors to each other and to organizers outside the prison walls.
The creation of this Survived & Punished NY website (survivedandpunishedny.org) allowed for Free : Survivors to publish its online edition in February 2020. The addition of the online newsletter will broaden the reach of Free : Survivors as well as help boost our fundraising to continue the project.
Focus
The Free : Survivors newsletter is a project of Survived & Punished NY, exists to end the criminalization of survivors of gender-based violence, and free those locked up in prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, psychiatric facilities, and in their own homes. We focus on criminalized survivors in New York State, but know that our struggles here are intimately connected to those around the country, and beyond.