ABSTRACT
People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA) is a prison abolitionist organisation based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This chapter looks at the history of PAPA and key lessons it learned in its first five years. It outlines some key mistakes PAPA made in its early organising and how it overcame them. The chapter also highlights some of the work PAPA is currently doing to build prison abolitionism in Aotearoa, including its pen pal network, grassroots campaigning, and abolitionist research. It provides an example of what prison abolitionist organising can look like in a settler-colonial state. It is written with the intention of dialogue: the hope is the chapter will both highlight some avoidable mistakes in abolitionist organising and encourage ongoing critical reflection on the organising tactics and strategies of PAPA and abolitionist movements generally.
