What We're Saying — The National Council

LANGUAGE MATTERS: At The National Council we prioritize using terms that reflect our commitment to justice and equity. When addressing incarceration, we use “incarcerated people” instead of “inmates” to emphasize the humanity of those impacted. While we focus on ending the incarceration of women and girls, we recognize that systems of imprisonment harm people across gender identities. Therefore, our language reflects an understanding of these broader dynamics while acknowledging the specific ways that sexism and patriarchy contribute to the incarceration of women and girls.

Additionally, we avoid referring to prisons as “institutions,” as this term can obscure the harm, violence, and systemic oppression that prisons inflict on individuals and communities. Instead, we use terms that directly name their role in perpetuating injustice. Our language seeks to center humanity, foster inclusivity, and challenge the systems and narratives that uphold mass incarceration.

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We are abolitionists. Prison reform isn’t our thing. We’re ending the incarceration of women and girls.

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