Melanie Brazzell created the What Really Makes Us Safe?-Project to learn from and practice transformative justice alternatives to prison and police for gendered harm, and to connect activists transnationally across Europe and North America. Inspired by the visionary work of women and queer folks of color, Melanie has found community and purpose in feminist, queer, and anti-violence movements for the last 20 years. Melanie co-founded the Berlin Transformative Justice Collective and published the “What really makes us safe?” toolkit, as well as a guide to working with people who’ve caused sexual harm. Currently, they are a fellow at the P3 Lab at Johns Hopkins University, exploring participatory action research as a movement building tool through their recent Building Structure Shapes project.
