Envisioning a world without prisons: group concept mapping as a collective strategy for justice and dignity

Abstract

ABSTRACTPeople with lived experiences of violence have minimal opportunities to address policies that affect them, which poses challenges to producing relevant results beyond academia. In this paper, we ask: in what ways can groups formulate a collective plan to address policy decisions that harm them? We used a framework called group concept mapping (GCM) with Central American and Mexican asylum seekers (named Migrantes Unidos), who are committed to ending the use of ankle monitors and other forms of detention in immigration enforcement. They identified distinct actions and group values, providing mutual support to each other, developing leadership skills, and receiving strength and knowledge to navigate the immigration system as top priorities. Our field work also showed how GCM participation led to actual subsequent political activism. Our results uncover new attitudes and ideas that add more depth to immigrant political behavior and advocacy. While our results demonstrate that GCM is a useful method to center voices of impacted community members’ ideas for change, we also argued that academics and their partners must value reciprocity regardless of the method or framework chosen to answer empirical questions.