Ann Hansen is a Canadian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

and former member of

Direct Action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

, a guerrilla organization known for the 1982 bombing of a Litton Industries plant, which made components for American

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhea ...

s. After her arrest she was sentenced to life in prison and was released on parole after seven years. Hansen wrote of her experiences in her 2002 book, '' Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla''. She is a prison rights activist and released her book ''Taking the Rap: Women Doing Time for Society's Crimes'' in 2018.

Direct Action

By the late 1970s, Hansen was living in Toronto, where she met Brent Taylor. She then moved to Vancouver and began a relationship with Taylor. They decided to form a guerrilla organization named

, with the addition of Julie Belmas and

Gerry Hannah Gerald Richard Hannah (also known as Gerry Useless) was the bass guitarist for the Canadian punk rock group The Subhumans. Hannah was also a member of the armed revolutionary group known as the Squamish Five. Musical career Hannah was a member ...

, local fixtures of Vancouver's

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene. The group carried out militant actions which included an attack on a

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exc ...

substation on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

and the

Litton Industries bombing In October, 1982, three members of an anarchist urban guerrilla group known as Direct Action acted upon "their wish to end the arms race" and filled a stolen pick-up truck with of dynamite and drove from Vancouver to Toronto, Canada planting the ...

in Toronto. The Litton Industries site was preparing to build components for US cruise missiles and the explosion played a part in Litton losing the contract. The group later fire-bombed several Red Hot Video stores in Vancouver which sold hardcore porn. Hansen and other members of Direct Action were arrested in 1983 and she was remanded to Oakalla Prison in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. After being sentenced to life imprisonment, she was moved to

Kingston Prison for Women The Prison For Women ("P4W"; french: Prison des femmes), located in Kingston, Ontario, was a Correctional Service of Canada prison for women that functioned at a maximum security level from 1934 to 2000. Background The first female inmates arr ...

and later the

Grand Valley Institution for Women Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVI; french: Établissement pour femmes Grand Valley) is a women's prison in Kitchener, Ontario, operated by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). In Canada, all offenders sentenced to prison terms of grea ...

Kitchener Kitchener may refer to: People * Earl Kitchener, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British Field Marshal and 1st Earl Kitchener ** Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (1846–1937) ...

. She was struck by the amount of prisoners who were indigenous or black. Hansen was released on parole after seven years. Hansen released a memoir entitled '' Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla'' in 2001.

Activism

In August 2012, Hansen was arrested and imprisoned for alleged parole violations after she had organised a film screening at public library in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

at which a lawyer gave a direct action workshop. She was held again at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. She was released with stricter parole conditions in October. After writing the book ''Taking the Rap: Women Doing Time for Society's Crimes'' about her experiences of incarceration, Hansen made a speaking tour of Canada, talking at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Capilano University Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunsh ...

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions ...

(KPU), the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

and the Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre in Winnipeg, amongst other places. Hansen is part of the P4W Memorial Collective, which campaigns for the preservation of the former Kingston Prison for Women, where she was previously incarcerated. When the building was redeveloped, the group requested a memorial garden be built to remember those women who were imprisoned there. Hansen participated in 2020 as a speaker in the event ''Untold stories on Kingston Penitentiary Tours: An online panel discussion''. Hansen donated her personal papers to the

University of Victoria Libraries The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary institu ...

' Special Collections & University Archives' Anarchist Archives in 2011.

Selected works

* '' Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla''. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2001. (). * (with Julie Belmas) "This Is Not A Love Story: Armed Struggle Against The Institutions Of Patriarchy" in ''Disorderly Conduct 5'', 2002. * "Armed Struggle, Guerilla Warfare, and the Social Movement Influences on 'Direct Action'" in (eds) Nocella, A. and Best, S. ''Igniting a revoluton: Voices in defense of earth'', AK Press. 2006. () * ''Taking the Rap: Women Doing Time for Society's Crimes''. 2018. (). * Foreword to ''Remembering the Armed Struggle: My Time with the Red Army Faction'' by Margrit Schiller. 2021 ().

References

External links

This Is Not A Love Story: Armed Struggle Against The Institutions Of Patriarchy
at The Anarchist Library (co-written by Julie Belmas & Ann Hansen) * in German

''Anarchismus in Kanada. Indigener Widerstand, G8-Gipfel und Ann Hansen. Ein Interview.'' In

Graswurzelrevolution ''Graswurzelrevolution'' (English: ''Grassroots Revolution'') is an anarcho-pacifist magazine founded in 1972 by Wolfgang Hertle in West Germany. It focuses on social equality, anti-militarism and ecology. The magazine is considered the most ...

, 337, 2009, p 3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Ann Green anarchists Canadian anarchists G7 Welcoming Committee Records artists 1953 births Living people University of Waterloo alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Urban guerrilla warfare theorists Anti-pornography feminists

Direct Action

Activism

Selected works

See also

References

External links