Introduction

This book is about people who are under-heard and under-served in criminology; it is an attempt to make space and amplify voices that are too often omitted or overlooked, spoken about, or for. In essence it is a project about listening, and not only that, paying attention, being engaged, and showing humility about what we do not know, instead of eagerly filling up that knowledge space with loud noise, chatter, and colonial practices. This book offers the reader a critical pause; we invite you to stay with us in the discomfort and reflect on how we come to know what we know (Le Bourdon, 2022), question what else there is to know (Trouillot, 1988), reflect on what pains and privileges this has afforded us, and consider who gets to speak about issues within and across the criminological landscape.