That wall shouldn't exist to begin with; but what's the first step of tearing down an invisible wall?

You make it visible.

And that's what the #PLANAct does.

Right now, licensing agencies don't have to publicize whether they consider conviction history until *after* someone has applied for a license--often after investing years and thousands of dollars in education and training. In a country where 1 in 4 jobs requires a license, that's unacceptable.

While PLAN doesn't fully ban considering conviction histories when awarding or denying professional licenses, it requires agencies to make the process--and criteria--more transparent, creates a preapplication process, and introduces time limits to keep applicants out of years of professional limbo.

A pile of button badges. Each shows the state of New York on a black background, accompanied by a check mark and the text, "Pass the #PLAN Act"

HEY, NEW YORK! This is an EXCELLENT week to call your assembly reps and tell them to vote YES on the #PLANAct, which helps level the field in professional licensing for people with conviction histories.

More info: www.womenscja.org/ny_prelimina...

Find your rep:
nyassembly.gov/mem/search/

Join us for a great conversation tonight!

Woman dies at Rikers Island, NYC jail officials say — 4th detainee death of 2025 The notorious jail complex is on pace to match or exceed the five detainee deaths recorded last year.

Rikers Island has claimed another life. Rest in power, Sonia Reyes. gothamist.com/news/woman-d...

A flier that reads: The Past and Present of Women's Mass Incarceration in NYC: A Virtual Conversation with Rev. Dr. Sharon White-Harrigan and Author Hugh Ryan

Join us this Thursday 3/20 for a virtual conversation with @hughryan.bsky.social and Rev. Dr. Sharon White-Harrigan about the past and present of women's incarceration in NYC and bold visions for abolition and reform!

Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A flier that reads: The Past and Present of Women's Mass Incarceration in NYC: A Virtual Conversation with Rev. Dr. Sharon White-Harrigan and Author Hugh Ryan

Join us this Thursday 3/20 for a virtual conversation with @hughryan.bsky.social and Rev. Dr. Sharon White-Harrigan about the past and present of women's incarceration in NYC and bold visions for abolition and reform!

Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A flier for a day of healing for women and gender-expansive people on March 1 from 2-5 PM, presented by Rikers Public Memory Project and the Women's Community Justice Association. Weeksville Heritage Center 158 Buffalo Ave. Brooklyn, NY All other info in post.

Join us on March 1 from 2-5 PM at Weeksville Heritage Center for a day of healing for women and gender-expansive people!

Performances, care stations, and workshops; food and childcare provided!

bit.ly/rpmp-weeksville-healing

Learn more about the Justice 4 Women Task Force and sign up for updates here: www.womenscja.org/j4wtf

A flier for the Justice 4 Women Task Force Meeting tonight at 6 PM EST on Zoom

Join us TONIGHT for this year's first Justice4Women Task Force meeting and get to know WCJA's legislative priorities with Director of Advocacy and LGBTQ+ Initiatives @edidin.bsky.social! 6 PM EST; scan QR code or join meeting at www.google.com/url?q=https:...

Trans women are women, and denying anyone gender-aligned housing and necessary medical care is cruel and unusual.

"[T]he crisis of violence and dehumanization and debasement that trans folks are facing in our prison system is one of the greater crises that trans people are facing in this country, period."

WCJA - Women's Community Justice Association (1 of 2) We are appalled to see the Federal Bureau of Prisons rushing to comply with Trump's transphobic executive orders by preparing to transfer trans women to men's facilities. Trans women--at any stages of medical transition--are women; and in men's facilities they face documentedly increased risk of harassment, abuse, and assault. We stand by our trans sisters and applaud those who have chosen to challenge this unfair and unsafe policy in court.

WCJA - Women's Community Justice Association (2 of 2) This is a vivid reminder, too, of the fact that inequality and discrimination are almost always amplified behind bars, where an already vulnerable population has little in the way of resources, respite, or power to challenge unjust authority. As you fight for your rights outside, don't forget to listen to and advocate with our siblings in jails and prisons.

This thread is very much on my mind right now; and ways both to normalize this kind of contact and to make it scale. bsky.app/profile/gwen...

Thinking a lot about community and mutual aid as federal programs are frozen; and how to integrate those things into the fabric of our communities sturdily enough to compensate in times like these.

So, this little dude is for a workshop that I'm developing at @womenscja.bsky.social. If you would be interested in hosting or partnering with us for an in-person or virtual workshop on writing and delivering public testimony--especially if it's for youth--HMU!

Far, far too many lives have been lost to the casual denial and even direct blocking of necessary medical care on Rikers island.

What Happened To Charizma Jones? Black Women Dies In NYC Jail After Staff Neglect According to AP, Charizma Jones was being held at Rikers Island when the 23-year-old fell into a coma and died of apparent organ failure.

Charizma Jones was a brilliant light, a promising young artist, loving and beloved. Her loss is a tragedy; the circumstances of her death, a travesty for which the city must answer. Let Charizma Jones's legacy be this: NOT ONE MORE.

For Survivors of Forced Sterilization in California Prisons, a Rushed Shot at Justice A state board deciding reparations for women sterilized against their will rejected most applications. Advocates are now racing against a January deadline for victims to appeal.

In 2021, California lawmakers passed a reparations program to provide $35,000 for people who were involuntarily sterilized while in state custody. But that program has compensated only a fraction of the around 800 women identified by a state audit. boltsmag.org/forced-...

How prisons become ‘corridors of contagion’ during a pandemic Victoria Law’s new book follows five incarcerated individuals who endured the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic behind bars

An honor to talk with @victorialaw.bsky.social about reporting on folks the media typically ignores, how prison officials use the pretext of safety to continue punitive pandemic-related policies & the Long Covid crisis behind bars. Now up at @prismreports.bsky.social prismreports.org/2024/12/16/h...

"This growing body of research refutes the rampant myths and fear-mongering that suggest pretrial detention ... is ultimately in everyone’s best interests. They show that even a day or two in jail can cause immense and long-lasting harm — harm that judges tragically and systematically ignore."

Access to media and communication with loved ones are vital to the well-being of incarcerated people; and as carceral facilities rely more and more on tablets for those things, it's vital that they remain accessible and affordable.

Gender-affirming care is basic, necessary healthcare; to deny it within prisons and jails is both a violation of both the 8th Amendment and basic human decency.

This is horrific and indefensible. To forcibly deny incarcerated people life-saving medical care while subjecting them to cruel and outdated “therapies” is beyond unconscionable.

Graphic showing that 80% of women in jail are mothers

Most women in jail are mothers, so this has devastating ripple effects on families

These women must leave their children & are impacted by the brutal side effects of going to jail: aggravation of mental health problems, greater risk of suicide & higher likelihood of homelessness

Women are funneled into jail

While there's not a significant difference between men & women in terms of multiple jail admissions, we do know that the number is growing for women: From 2021-2022, the number of women in jail increased 9% while the number of men increased 3%

US shuts down prisons amid scrutiny over sexual abuse and crisis of suicides Bureau of Prisons closes California facility and suspends operations at six others as rights activists call for clemency

NEW: Biden is facing calls to grant clemency to women who were sexually abused by prison guards + remain incarcerated

“If he can pardon his son, he can definitely grant clemency to survivors of this heinous abuse by federal government employees,” one survivor told me

20+ cases sitting on his desk:

Today we're at the National Association of Public Defenders Women's Conference. I'm not going to livepost--I want to make sure I can pay attention--but I'll post major takeaways from sessions as we go. -Jay