Restorative justice allows victims, offenders and their respective family members and friends to come together to explore how everyone has been affected by an offense or conflict and, when possible, to decide how to repair the harm. Victims can say how the crime or conflict affected them and ask the offender questions. Learning first-hand how they have hurt others often helps offenders to accept responsibility, while answering questions makes them accountable to those they have harmed.
CJI is part of an effort to make the Waterloo Region of Ontario a Restorative Practice Community. From the working group on Restorative Practice: “Restorative Justice is an important aspect but only one part of restorative practice. In a sense restorative justice lies at the roots of a broader vision of a peaceful and emotionally smart community.”
When extended beyond a response to conflict and crime, restorative justice can be used proactively and is called restorative practice.
People involved in a process determine what is needed to understand, heal, and move forward. The facilitator’s role is to empower those in conflict to create their own solution.
Processes foster connection and listening rather than focusing only on outcomes.
Participants have choice without external mandate to participate.
Participants work together co-operatively.
Participants take responsibility for their actions and are willing to address the identified needs of those harmed.
Participants are open to new ways of being and knowing and accept that we come from our own social locations and assumptions, which can create unconscious bias.
Restorative Justice processes are best carried out by trained community volunteers supported by skilled professionals.
In the child protection system, extended families meet with a facilitator to make a plan to protect children in their own families from further violence and neglect, and to avoid removal from the family.
With reintegration, community volunteers form circles of support to engage and equip people leaving prison and custody facilities to settle into community and find their meaningful place.
In the area of healing sexual abuse and trauma, we use support groups, education groups, workshops and facilitated dialogues to assist survivors, offenders, and their family members to understand, heal, and move forward.
Forms of restorative justice have existed since humans first began gathering into communities. Many ancient civilizations required offenders and their families to make amends to victims and their families not only to ensure restitution but also to restore community peace. These small, interdependent, and economically cooperative communities had to find ways to absorb people-in-conflict back into the community quickly and harmoniously—the clan’s survival depended on it.
State and the community set punishments.
Focus is on the problem solving, liabilities/obligations, and the future—what can be done to move forward.
Emphasis on adversarial relationship between victims and offenders.
Emphasis on dialogue and negotiation.
Participants directly affected by crime or conflict are involved in dialogue and developing solutions.
*Adapted from Retributive vs Restorative Justice, Conflict Solutions Center.
CJI creatively, and innovatively applies restorative justice principles to challenging community problems.
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