Across the world, outdated laws as well as some newer laws are continually used to unfairly target poor and marginalised people because of who they are, rather than what they have done. In parallel, there is an increase in the use of criminal law to suppress activism and quell dissent. This often has a devastating impact on those who are already vulnerable.

In effect, States routinely use the justice system against people for reasons that have little to do with citizen safety, but rather to protect the inherited boundaries of power, wealth, and privilege. This abuse of power has a profound human rights cost, manifesting in discrimination, use of lethal force, torture, excessive imprisonment, inhumane conditions of detention and social, political and economic exclusion.

There is a clear and urgent need to decriminalise laws that treat poverty, status, or activism, as a crime.
The Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status is a coalition of organisations from across the world that advocate for the repeal of laws, reform of policies and change in practices, that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism.

Across the world, outdated laws as well as some newer laws are continually used to unfairly target poor and marginalised people because of who they are, rather than what they have done. In parallel, there is an increase in the use of criminal law to suppress activism and quell dissent. This often has a devastating impact on those who are already vulnerable.

In effect, States routinely use the justice system against people for reasons that have little to do with citizen safety, but rather to protect the inherited boundaries of power, wealth, and privilege. This abuse of power has a profound human rights cost, manifesting in discrimination, use of lethal force, torture, excessive imprisonment, inhumane conditions of detention and social, political and economic exclusion.

There is a clear and urgent need to decriminalise laws that treat poverty, status, or activism, as a crime.

The Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status is a coalition of organisations from across the world that advocate for the repeal of laws, reform of policies and change in practices, that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism.

themed collections

Over the years, campaign partners have worked collaboratively on specific areas and approaches, such as vagrancy and nuisance-related laws, homelessness, and strategic litigation, compiling collections of resources and strategies that have led to successful law reform. 

recent updates

In many Caribbean communities, rising violence has eroded public trust in law enforcement. This Global Voices piece, courtesy of our member, the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), examines how community...
Posted: 24 September, 2025
On 1–2 September 2025, the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (CHR), and the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) (the Amici Applicants) represented by Lawyers for...
Posted: 8 September, 2025
The Commonwealth Foundation is offering grants for civil society organisations working on health justice, climate justice, and freedom of expression. With funding up to £60,000 over two years, they support...
Posted: 4 September, 2025
The prints have travelled from Art Basel Miami to the World Urban Forum in Cairo. This proves that when those most affected drive the conversation, the impact reaches far beyond...
Posted: 4 September, 2025
What if Kenya’s busiest court could heal instead of just punish? At Makadara Law Court, East and Central Africa’s largest by case volume, judges, magistrates, and justice stakeholders gathered to...
Posted: 4 September, 2025
Following her release, Winn founded Restore Her USA, an organisation supporting women of colour impacted by the criminal legal system.
Posted: 2 September, 2025
In many Caribbean communities, rising violence has eroded public trust in law enforcement. This Global Voices piece, courtesy of our member, the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), examines how community...
Posted: 24 September, 2025
On 1–2 September 2025, the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (CHR), and the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) (the Amici Applicants) represented by Lawyers for...
Posted: 8 September, 2025
The Commonwealth Foundation is offering grants for civil society organisations working on health justice, climate justice, and freedom of expression. With funding up to £60,000 over two years, they support...
Posted: 4 September, 2025

latest resources

This handbook addresses a critical gap in international guidance by providing comprehensive and practical recommendations for policymakers, prison administrators, and criminal justice professionals working to ensure humane and effective treatment ...
Year: 2014
Our report examines the narratives around ‘police efficiency’ and its everyday effects in Guna, Madhya Pradesh through police record of arrests. We evaluated the data of 20,705 arrest records published ...
Year: 2025
Prisons are often hidden from public view, but within their walls, countless men and women grapple with depression, trauma, and isolation. Since 2023, StrongMinds has been working to change that ...
Year: 2025
Across Africa, criminal, security and “exceptional” laws often serve purposes far beyond their stated intent; they become instruments that undermine human rights, stifle dissent, and perpetuate systemic injustices. But how ...
Year: 2025

upcoming events

25 April, 2026
to 30 April, 2026
The United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is the world’s largest and most diverse gathering of policy-makers,...

the stories

Stories gathered by campaign members and other organisations help expose the havoc that the use and abuse of these laws wreak on the lives of the already vulnerable. The campaign uses these stories to communicate to various stakeholders and advocate for systemic change.

All over the world, criminal justice systems misuse overly broad and discriminatory laws that are rooted in the age of empire to criminalize people  for who they are rather than for what they have done and quell dissent. The ‘Residue & Ruin’ photo exhibition, curated by Luvuyo Equiano Nwayose for the Campaign, highlights the impact these laws have on those who fall victim to their abuse.

All over the world, criminal justice systems misuse overly broad and discriminatory laws that are rooted in the age of empire to criminalize people  for who they are rather than for what they have done and quell dissent. The ‘Residue & Ruin’ photo exhibition, curated by Luvuyo Equiano Nwayose for the Campaign, highlights the impact these laws have on those who fall victim to their abuse.

campaign members

Our coalition members are organisations from across the world, working on improving criminal justice systems to ensure that human rights for respected for all. They work collaboratively through legal reform, litigation, advocacy, policy, capacity building and research to make change happen.

Join our campaign

Support our work: fund our member’s activities and advocate for reform.

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The Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status is a coalition of organisations from across the world that advocate for the repeal of laws that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism.

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