Fay Honey Knopp
Fay Honey Knopp (*15. August 1918 in Bridgeport, Connecticut – †10. August 1995 in Shoreham, Vermont) war eine US-amerikanische Bürgerrechts- und Friedensaktivistin, Feministin.
Die im Jahre 1962 zu den Quäkern konvertierte jüdisch-feministische Pazifistin engagierte sich für die nicht-repressive Behandlung jugendlicher Sexualstraftäter und für die Abschaffung der Gefängnisse.
Safer Society Foundation
The groundwork for Safer Society Foundation was laid over 30 years ago when Fay Honey Knopp began her work as a prison visitor. As she spent time with large numbers of inmates, she became convinced major changes were needed in the criminal justice system. In 1975, under the auspices of the New York State Council of Churches, she founded the Prison Research Education/Action Project (PREAP). PREAP was a national project which engaged in advocacy research and action on nonrepressive alternatives to incarceration for offenders, remedies for victims, and primary and secondary prevention strategies. By 1979, PREAP’s work focused on society’s response to sexual violence. Ms. Knopp was advocating for more appropriate responses to sexual violence than, as she wrote in a letter, “warehousing the perpetrators in prison, neglecting sexual assault victims, and abdicating our responsibility to prevent such assaults.”
In the early 1980′s few programs existed to treat either juvenile or adult sex offenders. Ms. Knopp researched those programs that did exist. She wrote books describing these programs to assist other starting their own programs. She also wrote a pamphlet addressed to judges and legislators advocating early intervention with and treatment of juvenile sex offenders to prevent a life-long history of offending.
Fay Honey Knopp is the main author of the seminal "Handbook for Abolitionists", edited by Mark Morris in 1976.
These books, and others resulting from the work of PREAP, were published under the Safer Society Press imprint. As PREAP’s focus changed to sexual violence prevention and treatment, the decision was made to drop the PREAP name and use Safer Society Press and Program instead. The Press and Program were still projects of the New York State Council of Churches.