This month at Briarpatch!

Intervening in violence: Mimi Kim on gender, the state and community accountability
Kim's pragmatic approach to defending the safety and integrity of women stems from years of work on the ground with women of colour and others who have been marginalized from the mainstream anti-violence movement.

Safer sex: the case for decriminalization
Last fall, an Ontario Superior Court Judge ruled to decriminalize prostitution in the province. The Ontario and federal governments are appealing the decision. In preparation for the hearing in June, sex workers’ rights advocates make a strong case for decriminalization.

The Jaggi Singh trial: A view from inside the courtroom
Ideas are being put on trial in Canada. Singh, one of the nation’s most prominent anti-capitalist activists, could face up to six months in prison for urging people to take down the $5-million G20 summit fence erected in downtown Toronto last June. Carmelle Wolfson offers a poignant overview of the case and what led Singh to plead guilty to "counselling to commit mischief" in April.

Our Way to Fight: Book review
In Michael Riordon's latest book, subtitled "Peace-work under siege in Israel-Palestine," you’ll meet Palestinians and Israelis whose struggles for peace, justice and an end to more than half a century of illegal dispossession and brutal occupation, belie the racism and harmful homogenising of history that fuel the current policies of the Zionist state.

Plus:

Shafted by the feds again!
This year is the third year running that Briarpatch has been denied long-standing funding through the Department of Canadian Heritage. And we’re not alone. Many small, left-of-centre and openly opinionated publications have been defunded in recent years, alongside a host of First Nations’, women’s, immigrant, queer and environmental organizations. In the face of a Harper majority, independent media is one of the last remaining safeguards of democracy and justice. As a reader-supported publication, we depend on donations from readers like you to keep the cogs turning. You can do your part to support smart, progressive journalism that’s not afraid to hold power to account by making a donation, renewing your subscription (even if it's not yet due), signing up as as a sustaining subscriber or giving a gift subscription (or 10!).