Frameworks for Freedom: Abolition Work During COVID-19, in Mi’kma’ki
Date
2025
Authors
Avery, Ash
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
This thesis examines abolitionist responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on decarceration efforts, responses to intersecting crises, and the development of community-based
alternatives to incarceration. Grounded in abolition feminist theory and using autoethnography as methodology, I explore the intersections of abolitionist praxis, the non-profit sector, and the transformative possibilities of building care-based systems rooted in restorative justice, transformative justice, and liberatory harm reduction. Through creative methods, including zine-
making and art, this project documents the challenges and potential of abolitionist work amidst unprecedented societal upheaval. The pandemic disrupted every facet of society, exposing deep systemic inequities while offering glimpses of transformative possibilities. In carceral systems, public health risks prompted some decarceration efforts but were paired with heightened punitive measures, highlighting contradictions in crisis-driven reform. These actions revealed that decarceration is both feasible and necessary but also exposed the limitations of temporary, reactionary responses rather than proactive, systemic transformation. My findings reveal significant tensions within abolitionist movements and organizations, including the challenges of cancel culture, moral injury from navigating multiple intersecting crises, and the structural flaws of the non-profit sector, which alone cannot achieve systemic change. This work underscores the importance of resolving internal conflicts within movements without replicating harm, fostering meaningful collaboration, and embracing the radical possibilities of abolitionist frameworks. This thesis situates the COVID-19 pandemic as a critical juncture—a moment that demonstrates both the urgent need for abolitionist advocacy and the limitations of crisis-driven change. Through personal narrative, reflexive analysis, and creative expression, this research contributes to abolitionist knowledge and calls for sustained activism and justice-building grounded in equity, care, and systemic transformation.