Why Carceral Feminism Gets Consent Wrong (Again)

Spoiler: If your feminism relies on police and prisons, it's not protecting us—it's punishing us.

---

For a movement that claims to be rooted in liberation, carceral feminism sure loves a cage.

Carceral feminism is the belief that the best—or only—way to address gender-based violence is through criminalization, policing, and punishment. It rose to prominence in the 1990s alongside tough-on-crime legislation and second-wave calls for legal reform. On the surface, it sounds reasonable: violence against women is bad, so we should punish the people who commit it.