FAQs

Why Men?

People of all identities are capable and do commit violence against other people. Yet men commit the vast majority of various forms of violence. There are limited opportunities for men who commit violence to do the work of healing and accountability, instead they are often punished and isolated into jails and prisons, institutions that are rooted in the very patriarchal violent norms that foster violence in the first place. And, the vast majority of men who commit violence have themselves survived violence and thus healing is a central element of becoming accountable. Shifts is focused on men who commit violence to be a place for men to engage in healing and accountability beyond the criminal legal system, and to respond to male violence through an emphasis on its gendered and patriarchal causes.

What lineages Do we draw from?

Shifts is a project that supports men who have committed violence and harm in the work of shifting towards and through healing and accountability outside of the criminal legal system. We are rooted in the lineages of restorative and transformative justice, somatics, prison abolition, and take inspiration from indigenous traditions in turtle island and the Pacific. We believe healing and accountability come through deep relationships, care, support, culture, embodied practice, and time, and for some through spirituality. Our work is community-based and community-specific as we aim to support people as they are and where they are, as best we know how. 

What Do we not do?

While we draw on the lineages of restorative and transformative justice, we do not offer processes for people who have caused harm and survivors of harm to come together.  This may change, but for now, when appropriate, we will do our best to connect people to other facilitators. We are also not deciders of when someone is healed or accountable. Rather we see our work as one way to support men in their overall work of becoming more healed and more accountable.