Imagining possibilities: Moving beyond criminalization as our dominant response to gender-based violence

This document outlines the exploration of the key themes discussed during a 2023 meeting to reimagine feminist approaches to preventing and addressing GBV, beyond the existing systems which foreground criminal justice and criminalization. It is meant to serve as a series of provocations on the limitations and tensions embedded in the use of criminal justice as a response to GBV and an impetus to critically examine what has been done, what is currently done and what can be done to holistically address, redress and prevent GBV in multiple contexts. This report reflects the complexities of the conversations at our in-person meeting and the diversity of perspectives we brought as participants from different contexts and organizations, with varying policy positions and positionalities.