"Tread Carefully": A qualitative study of activists' perceptions of the prison system and strategies for promoting change

This study used in-depth qualitative interviews from six participants to understand prison activists’ perceptions of the prison system and their strategies for enacting change. A constructionist lens was used to analyze the data with Joel Best’s (2017) social problems theory. Prisons were framed and problematized by the activists based on systemic issues of colonization, mental health and substance use, CSC misconduct, and cultural attitudes towards punishment. Lack of public awareness, and in educational environments, towards these issues led to strategies of education in order to build communities that are more inclusive, caring, and connected. Strategies like advocating for trauma informed care and connecting non- incarcerated with incarcerated were examples of community building. The activists also experienced challenges in their work with negotiating relationships - in particular, the fear of helping, frustration in managing the complexities of activism, and moving forward despite challenges in their work. Therefore, Goffman’s (1959) theory of presentations of self was another useful theoretical lens. The findings suggest that prison activists use different framing strategies depending on the context of the situation and how they want to present themselves. Furthermore, the strategic and covert methods for enacting change diverge from traditional activist methods and aim to create change at an individual level.