Affinity groups

Affinity Groups
Affinity groups are small groups of people, usually between three and fifteen, who come together to support one another during nonviolent actions. Sometimes the group disbands after a particular action, sometimes it carries on meeting.

We are encouraging everyone wishing to risk arrest on this action to be part of an affinity group.

Safety and support
If you’re by yourself, it is easy to get lost, especially in a police station when nobody outside knows who you are, or even that you’ve been arrested. Also, it is good to be around people you know and trust, especially when arrests begin to happen.

Strength and flexibility
Affinity groups help stop the action being a crowd which can be manipulated. Each group has an identity, as does each person within it.

Decision-making
Rather than grand debates being dominated by the few, a collection of affinity groups can use more democratic decision-making processes - in which everyone is involved. The action is unlikely to go exactly as planned, and the group may well need to make decisions on the hoof.

Support roles
An affinity group can contain one or two support people who are not risking arrest, who can witness events. Support people can give the Legal Support Unit accurate information, and wait for arrestees to be released (a vital job). You may also consider having a local press contact feeding information to your local media during the day.

Forming an affinity group
An affinity group can be a collection of friends, or it can be a group who meet for the first time at a nonviolence and legal preparation session.