158 self exposure to the elements
"Exposure of one’s own body to discomfort or suffering from the elements, such as the heat of the sun, is one form which psychological intervention has taken. This method is one of the several forms in which self-retribution may be expressed. Self-retribution involves putting psychological, moral, or emotional pressure on others to induce them to change their attitudes or to take certain action, by voluntarily taking discomfort, humiliation, penalties, or suffering upon oneself. Other ways in which self-retribution is expressed within nonviolent action include protest disrobing, destruction of one’s own property (as used by some Doukhobors) both already discussed, and the fast, which follows."...
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High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Julia Butterfly Hill defends California redwoods, 1999
The economy of the town of Stafford, located in Humboldt County, has been dominated by timber production since the seventeenth century. Pacific Lumber Company, a family owned company, was the primary producer of lumber in the area from 1885 to 1985. ...
UK community stages protest camp to build opposition to fracking - 2013-14
By 2013, pressure to use hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to release methane (natural gas) from shale rock formations in the UK began to grow. Prime Minister David Cameron endorsed pursuing this method of extracting natural gas. The government began i...
Native Americans walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. for U.S. civil rights, 1978
After the occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971, and subsequent forcible removal of American Indians by the United States government, the movement for civil rights for Native Americans became increasingly determined, firm, and conflictual. The gov...
Times Beach residents win fight for relocation from contaminated dioxin sites
Between 1970 and 1976, Russell Bliss used a toxic mixture of motor oil and dioxin to spray the unpaved roads in Times Beach, MO. The community hired Bliss, a career waste disposer, to reduce its dust problem. Unbeknownst to residents of the small tow...
Colorado disability rights activists (ADAPT) prevent budget cuts to Medicaid Home-Health Services, 2002
On July 5-18, 2002, between 11 and 22 members of Colorado ADAPT (Americans for Attendant Policies Today) held a constant vigil outside of the state Human Services Building in Denver in order to protest the state Health Care Policy Finance (HCPF) comm...
Purdue University students campaign against sweatshops, 2000
In 1997, student activists formed an organization called United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). Entirely student run, the organization strives to "win victories that set precedents in the struggle for self-determination of working people everywhe...
Migrant workers in Slovenia hunger strike for wages, 2010
Migrant workers in Slovenia have very few legal grounds on which to secure fair labor practices. According to the Employment and Work of Aliens Act (passed in 2000), workers who were not citizens had to work for the same employer for at least two yea...
Saami and Norwegians protest construction of Alta Dam, Norway, 1979-1981
Located inside the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, the Alta River runs through the reindeer herding grounds of the indigenous Saami people. In 1970, the Norwegian Water Resources and Electricity Board proposed a hydroelectric dam on the river. The ...
The Bolivian CIDOB launches Sixth Indigenous March for autonomy & rights, 2007
In July 2007 the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia, which goes by the Spanish acronym CIDOB (La Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia), launched their Sixth Indigenous March campaign.\n\nCIDOB is a national organization represent...
Sons of Freedom Doukhobors of Saskatchewan win communal land-holding, Canada, 1900-1907
The Doukhobors are a group of Russian peasants who left the Orthodox Church following a schism and were named “douko-borets," meaning “spirit wrestlers.” Their Christian beliefs led them to adopt principles of pacifism, communal living and the sharin...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Pakistanis march on Islamabad against government corruption, 2012-2013
Tahir-ul Qadri is a Pakistani law professor, politician, and Sufi scholar. After serving as an elected Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Qadri resigned in 2004, claiming disappointment and frustration with regard to corruption and lack of ...