Harsha Walia: Dominant liberal feminism has typically sought equal and fair rights for women. Even subsequent waves that brought greater representation of diverse women and trans people within these same frameworks of feminism have rarely altered the premise of “equality” as the primary organizing force of feminism, thus leaving the relationship of heteropatriarchy to other social, economic and political structures of power largely unquestioned. Patriarchy is not secondary to capitalism and imperialism; the very foundations of capitalism, colonialism and state violence are structured in conjunction with and through patriarchy. Marginalized women, therefore, not only endure gendered violence at higher rates, we also experience it qualitatively differently. The past decade has seen a surge of debate on feminist anti-violence strategies that rely on the state. Anti-violence strategies, such as tougher sentencing laws and increased policing, have been criticized for emboldening criminalization that already disproportionately targets communities of colour, poor communities, and trans folks. It is clear that the state is not interested in protecting women who defend themselves against heteropatriarchal and transphobic violence, as evidenced most recently in the cases of Marissa Alexander and CeCe McDonald, both Black women who were incarcerated for defending themselves against partner violence and transphobic violence, respectively. A fact sheet on battered women in U.S. prisons details that as many as 90 per cent of the women in jail today for killing men were battered by those men. Battered women in prison are part of a broader trend of incarcerating Indigenous and Black women, women who are street-involved, sex workers, trans women, and migrant women. The incarceration of Black women in the U.S increased by 828 per cent over five years. In Canada, the representation of Indigenous women in prison has increased by nearly 90 per cent over the past decade. For migrant and non-status women, reporting sexual abuse often leads to deportation, and Canada has recently introduced a policy of conditional permanent residency that further entrenches the vulnerability of migrant women. This criminalization, incarceration and deportation of women and trans people is gender violence perpetrated by the state. More here.