Dear all,
There is an over-reliance on the criminal justice system and the police to address health and social issues, including the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations. This one-day seminar will discuss the most urgent and widespread issues of criminalisation in Africa and provide human rights defenders, government representatives, funders, lawyers (including prosecutors), journalists, business people (including impact investors), police, healthcare workers and UN staff with an introduction to the issues, an understanding of the political landscape (including links to SDGs and African frameworks) and examples of best-case practices, alternatives to policing and and introduction to international guidelines.
One-day seminar – free registration – attendance certificate and learning materials provided.
The seminar is aimed at people with little to no knowledge of criminalisation issues. All you need to know in one day!
Tuesday 29 June, 9am to 6pm Central African Time
What will you gain from attending?
Human Rights Defenders | Learn how to include criminalisation issues into your human rights work. Meet and connect with other community and human rights leaders working on criminalisation. |
Government Representatives | Reduce governments implementing adverse outcomes from over-criminalisation; Acquire knowledge on how to apply challenge criminalisation strategies in your policy and programming work |
Funders | Recognise when criminalisation issues are affecting your grant portfolio. Learn how to implement criminalisation principles into your grant management |
Lawyers (Including Prosecutors) | Execute better legal cases based on improved understanding of the scope of over-criminalisation. Recognise abuse of process and network with lawyers who are able to get acquittals of innocent people |
Police | Employ better public engagement strategies for improved policing responses |
Journalists | Enhance your copy and broaden your beat with new knowledge and understanding of the status quo of criminalisation in 2021. Be a better correspondent by writing newsworthy articles on criminalisation issues that matter |
Business People, Including Impact Investors | Appreciate the impact criminalisation has on your business and what you can do about it |
Healthcare Workers And | Learn to distinguish how criminalisation is affecting your patients and health system |
UN Staff | Accelerate development and equity by incorporating matters of criminalisation into your UN work, strategies and tactics |
Background
There is an ongoing global clampdown on people who are perceived to be "criminal". States, often driven by pressure from society, religious groups, police, and the judicial services are morally policing, oppressing and intimidating civilians, activists and organisations that do not fit into the "average, acceptable social norms".
This discrimination takes the form of harassment, coercion, detention (without trial in many cases), illegal arrests, stifled media, shrinking democratic space, physical and sexual abuse and even murder. The consequences of this oppression are multi-faceted: firstly acting on individuals, secondly acting on society as a whole and thirdly acting on the closure of space for civil society to work and express their dissatisfaction and demands freely. The responses to COVID-19 have exacerbated human rights violations and increased state control in many countries. There is often a reliance on the criminal justice system and the police to address 'health' and 'social' issues, including the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations.
Thematic areas affected by criminalisation that we will include in the seminar include:
graffiti | suicide | poverty | self-defence | trans diversity |
using drugs | bodily autonomy | female nudity | sex outside of marriage | HIV transmission |
abortion | homelessness | same-sex sex | anal sex | under-age smoking |
sex work | drink driving | trespassing | aporaphobia | COVID-19 transmission |
The overuse of the law affects the least powerful amongst us. Women, LGBTQ people, people of colour, the under or unemployed, those in rural areas, people with less formal education, young people, people with fewer financial resources, and those living in societies with less equality are worst affected.
Come and learn, and be a part of the #challengecrim movement !
For more information and to register:
http://bit.ly/AfricaChallengeCrimRSVP
Wishing you good health,
Phil
Phillipa Tucker (she-her)
Director of Research and Communications
Accountability International
Bruxelles Innovation Hub, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)4 73 71 82 16
Twitter: @PhillipaTucker
Skype: Phillipa Tucker AI
Email: phillipa@accountability.international
Website: www.accountability.international
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