Criminal Justice

Mónica Esparza’s case is one of the most notorious cases of extreme gender violence carried out by Mexican authorities. What her story teaches about how to combat the country’s scourge of gender-based violence.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of civil society groups, prisoners in Pakistan did not suffer a mass outbreak of COVID-19. What the near miss underlined, however, is the country’s urgent need for criminal justice reform.

Following 25 years of service, Herb Sturz retired from the Open Society Foundations in July. He leaves behind a legacy of work that lifted up lives, from the townships of South Africa to the classrooms of New York City.

Megan Rapinoe, co-captain of the World Cup–winning U.S. women’s soccer team, told a story about her brother’s struggles with addiction and incarceration. Here’s what we can learn from his story—and why prison breeds violence rather than making communities safer.

As a new report shows, draconian anti-drug policies in Latin America don’t just harm people who use or sell substances; they harm the children and families of the incarcerated, too. Thankfully, there’s a better way.

Despite its place in the country’s constitution, the right to peacefully protest in South Africa is often abridged. Here’s what the civil society group Right2Protest is doing to end this injustice and protect this key right.