Sisters Uncut, a UK-based feminist group, held a week-long occupation of north London’s Holloway Prison in late May in response to conservative austerity policies that have had a damaging effect on social services for victims of domestic violence.
Sisters Uncut, a UK-based feminist group, held a week-long occupation of north London’s Holloway Prison in late May in response to conservative austerity policies that have had a damaging effect on social services for victims of domestic violence.
The occupation began on May 27, according to the group’s Facebook event page, and ran until June 2. During that time, activists used Holloway as a community space for workshops, yoga, music and self-defense. The Sisters finished up the week with a vigil in honor of the many women and non-binary people who have died inside the former prison.
According to Sisters Uncut spokesperson Nandini Archer, activists entered Holloway through an open window and secured the visitors’ center after a 10-hour standoff with police. The Sisters Uncut demanded that the government convert Holloway to a women’s building and use its land for social housing.
Before its closure in 2016, Holloway Prison spent a hundred years confining female prisoners. British suffragists were imprisoned and force-fed within its walls. The prison’s history is plagued with scandals regarding poor healthcare, sexual assault, and other forms of mistreatment of its inmates.
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