We Deserve Healing Not Harm - We Can Get Better At This: A Conversation on Community Accountability and Building Our Collective Response to Sexual Harm

Join Abolition X Podcast Hosts Richie Reseda and Indigo Mateo in Conversation with Community Justice Initiatives Julian as they explore conversations about sexual harm, accountability, toxic masculinity, and our collective ability to grow more skills and pathways to respond to the needs of survivors. 

We Deserve Healing Not Harm is a speaker series focused on generating collective action in response to sexual harm within our communities. Over the past 30 plus years, the feminist anti-violence movement has come to heavily rely on the criminal legal system, and the ways it is mirrored in post-secondary institutions, to address gender-based violence. Since then there has been extensive critique, in particular from Black, Indigenous, and racialized organizers/survivors and their allies, of this deeply embedded alliance. Research has shown that enhanced law enforcement does not clearly result in decreased rates of gender-based violence (Richie, 2012). This series is an opportunity to unpack, explore paths for change, and develop responses that align with the needs of many different survivors and their communities. Through speakers, resource sharing, and calls to action we will explore opportunities for justice and healing.

About the Speakers

richie reseda

Freed from prison in 2018, richie reseda (he/him) is an abolitionist entrepreneur, creative director, and music, film, and content producer. He founded Question Culture (external link)  during his seven years in prison and currently works as a Co-CEO. He is the creative director of the For Everyone Collective (external link) , a worker-owned fashion collective of formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones that partners with Question Culture. He co-created and co-hosted the Spotify Original podcast Abolition X (external link)  with Indigo Mateo and Vic Mensa. He co-executive produced, and produced songs on Defund The Sheriff (The Album) (external link)  to uplift transformative ballot initiatives in Los Angeles during the 2020 election. In prison he also launched Success Stories Program (external link) , the feminist program for incarcerated men chronicled in the CNN documentary, "The Feminist on Cell Block Y," (external link)  and Initiate Justice (external link) , which organizes people directly impacted by incarceration to change criminal justice laws. One of the laws he worked on, Prop 57., freed him from prison two years early. 

Indigo Mateo

Jersey native, Indigo Mateo (she/her) is a singer, songwriter, survivor, and culture worker who creates art to heal and transform. She is a co-owner of the social impact record label, Question Culture and founder of Soul Showers, a space for those who've experienced sexual violence to cleanse shame and 'heal in the sun.' Indigo released her sophomore album, ‘Singleplayer’ on September 30th 2021. She is a cohost of Question Culture’s Spotify original podcast, Abolition X, with Vic Mensa and richie reseda. 

Julian McCants-Turner

Julian McCants-Turner (he/him) is dedicated to fostering equity using revolutionary and holistic approaches that amplify the voices of marginalized people. As a Revive Services Coordinator at Community Justice Initiatives (CJI), he works to end sexual violence in ways that support long-term transformation and address the root causes of sexual harm, unlike incarceration. Julian also enjoys supporting CJI’s Stride Program, which offers re-entry and programming support with women who are incarcerated. Julian earned his MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Eastern Mennonite University with a primary focus in counseling, and secondary specializations in social justice leadership and theology. He finds peace and amazement in jazz, reading, and discussions about changing the world.

Organizers 

Consent Comes First (Toronto Metropolitan University), Consent is Golden (Wilfrid Laurier University), Carleton University Sexual Assault Support Centre, and Community Justice Initiatives Waterloo Region (CJI) are committed to working towards systems that heal rather than harm.