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StopViolence collects resources about non-repressive responses to
a variety of violence, including school shootings, sexual assault, and hate crimes. The
underlying belief of StopViolence is that punishment after a crime is not effective crime prevention;
a safe and peaceful society requires justice, not overdoses of prison, chain
gangs and executions.
Rather than wage wars on crime and drugs,
society needs to explore solutions that contribute to social justice and promote a just peace. The tired 'get tough' rhetoric of politicians is not a solution because
violence is not 'caused' by our current sentencing structure. Indeed, the 'get
tough' approach is counter-productive when money to build prisons comes from
cuts in crime prevention funds, community services and education - kind of like mopping
the floor while the tub overflows.
StopViolence is an ongoing project
initially
constructed by the students in Dr. Paul
Leighton's graduate Violence & Society seminar at Eastern Michigan University in
the fall of 1999. The point was not just to learn about violence in society, but
learn about reducing violence and turn that knowledge into a website useful for students, teachers, activists, and victims of
violence. Additional
topics and ongoing expansion occur through the efforts of Paul and his
classes, with thanks to EMU for a Faculty
Research Fellowship which helped support this project.
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