A #SupportDontPunish webinar series
Have you heard of "Support, Don't Punish"? It's a global campaign for drug policies that centre health and human rights. It's not been particularly prominent in Singapore because we haven't had groups that have been very vocal about drug policy reform and harm reduction, but that's work that the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) is now doing. We're kicking off our #SupportDontPunish campaign with a week of webinars, starting tonight all the way through to Friday evening.
You might have already seen TJC promoting these seminars on our social media pages, but I'm sending out this issue of Altering States just in case you've missed them. Check out the programme below and sign up!
Day 1 — Monday, 26 June
Harm reduction: Encouraging care, not use
7.30–8.30PM
Is harm reduction a more meaningful response to drugs than Singapore's 'zero tolerance' approach? Let practitioners who provide harm reduction and support services for people who use drugs in Australia and Brazil show you what they do, why they do it, and how their work changes lives.
Day 2 — Tuesday, 27 June
Listen to youth who use drugs
7.30–8.00PM
More and more young people in Singapore are using drugs. What are the unique experiences and needs of youth who use drugs? Ruby (Youth R.I.S.E) and Sachi (TJC) will explore how youth voices can shape drug policy reform and inform health and support services for people who use drugs.
Day 3 — Wednesday, 28 June
Using on the margins
7.30–8.00PM
This dialogue between Karin (Brazil) and Rayner (Singapore) will delve into how drug use in marginalised communities is connected to longings for autonomy, freedom, choice and pleasure. Beyond vulnerability, persecution and stigma, what other provocations does using on the margins hold for all of us to contend with?
Day 4 — Thursday, 29 June
Reducing risks under prohibition
7.30–8.00PM
Kirsten speaks with Nilawan, who works on bringing harm reduction services to hard-to-reach ethnic minority communities in northern Thailand. We'll be learning from her how drug policy reform advocates have succeeded in carving out these possibilities even in prohibitionist states that continue to impose harsh punishments on people who use drugs.
Day 5 — Friday, 30 June
Healing in crisis: Stigma kills, support saves lives
Fri 30 Jun 7.30-8.00PM
For people who use drugs to live with dignity, autonomy and stability, policy reforms and support services are necessary but not sufficient. What role do all of us have within our communities, to make sure that people who use drugs feel able to seek and get the help and care they need, unafraid of stigma and punishment? Kirsten (Scotland) and Simon (Netherlands) will guide us through how we can build informal community capacities to respond to the needs of people who use drugs.