Social Work Abolitionism in the Midst of the Hong Kong Protests

2019 was a historic year for political struggle in Hong Kong. What had begun as protests against a bill that would allow for the extradition of activists and labour organizers to the mainland Chinese criminal justice system, transformed into a broader movement against authoritarianism and policing. A praxis embodying social work abolitionism has emerged in this context, with growing recognition that social service and healthcare sectors are closely intertwined with policing in Hong Kong and are in no way neutral bodies. This recognition has led to abolitionist solutions. Mutual aid practices have been highly visible in the protest movement, from protest supply stations to aunties sneaking into occupation sites to cook food for student protesters. The distrust of hospitals has led to the development of underground clinics, and activists have sheltered and cared for children kicked out of homes due to political differences with their families, creating networks of politicized chosen families. These seeds of abolitionism that have emerged in Hong Kong show that challenges to the carceral system are not exclusive to the West and social work abolitionist analysis and activism cannot be limited in geographic scope.