What is Support Don’t Punish?
Support. Don’t Punish. is a global advocacy campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the harms being caused by the War on Drugs. The campaign aims to promote drug policies that respect human rights and protect public health, to change laws and policies that impede access to harm reduction interventions and other evidence-based services, and to end the criminalisation of people who use drugs. To view the campaign’s primary messages, visit their website. The primary aim of Support Don’t Punish is to create visibility and awareness over both global issues facing people who use drugs and also local campaigns in areas where events are organized. There are three primary components to the campaign:- Social Media Engagement: Using #SupportDontPunish, everyone is encouraged to post photos, articles, and news stories relevant to the campaign’s messages both on June 26th and the days leading up to it. Follow @SDPcampaign on twitter as well as the official Facebook Page. You can also change your Facebook cover photo for the day.
- Photo Project: A key part of the campaign is an interactive photo project that anyone with a camera can participate in. Just download the campaign poster, take your photo and then send it to campaign@idpc.net to be uploaded on the website, Facebook and on Flickr.
- Global Day of Action: On June 26th, join thousands of activists worldwide by organising or participating in an action in your city calling for an end to the global drug war. Actions can range from public demonstrations, to film screenings, to street art/performances, to academic events.
- In 2015, SSDP organized a march in Washington, DC that called on the US State Department tocease funding and aid for drug enforcement agencies in countries that implement the death penalty for drug offenses.
SSDP’s 2015 Support. Don’t Punish. rally at the State Department in Washington, DC
- SSDP chapters in Ireland organized a rally in Dublin in 2015 where the Irish Minister for Drug Strategies publically declared his support for the decriminalization of all drugs for the first time.
- SSDP Ghana brought together their various chapters for a day of awareness in 2016 where they called attention to the stigmatization of people who use drugs in Ghana.