What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative Justice (RJ) is a community-driven approach to resolving the harm that was done onto a community member or community. The idea does not seek to punish or discipline the person who harmed but aims to provide support for them to unlearn the toxic behaviors that allowed the harm to happen. Additionally, RJ supports the victims and survivors in the process of healing by respecting and uplifting their agency and autonomy.
Five key ideas of RJ include:
- Focusing on the impact of the harm
- Rather than focusing on how someone “broke the rule” or “did not follow procedures,” RJ seeks to focus the consequences of the actions to move forward past the harm.
- Centering the victim to work towards a resolution that will empower the victim and responding to their needs as necessary
- RJ aims to center the victim’s needs because the impact of the harm was done unto them. This allows the victim to take the necessary steps to heal and move past the harm done.
- Support the person who harmed in their (un)learning and encourage them to accept their wrongdoings and grow
- RJ hinges on the idea that the person who harmed had learned the toxic behaviors through a general toxic society. RJ supports the person who harmed in their growth to accept wrongdoings and unlearning toxic behaviors to prevent further harm.
- Community involvement
- RJ involves the community in the justice process. This is a key idea because it values the community’s contribution to the process and shows that accountability can only work when everyone is involved. When you care about someone, you want to be sure they are the best person they can be; that is love with accountability.
- Respect for all parties
- Respecting all parties involved in this process includes the person who harmed, the survivors, and the community (allies). All must be able to incorporate active listening, non-judgemental and non-alienating questions, and understand that healing and unlearning is not a linear process. These factors contribute to better understand the parties involved and ensure that they feel heard.
RJ is a model that incorporates a high level of support from the community and a high level of expectations. Take a look at the chart on the right. The traditional punitive model has a high level of expectations but those are just expectations — there is very little to no support from this system that expects a lot. Many criminalized people end up criminalized and survivor’s stories are shoved aside because of the current system’s high expectations and lack of support.
Why is RJ important?
RJ is important in continuing to build community trust and faith in each other. Community is key in many social justice spaces because the very act of radical transformation requires community input.
In a society that uplifts cis-heteronormative, ableist, racist, transphobic, homophobic, and sexist…etc. ideals, many individuals often become victim and perpetuate these ideals. Whether harm has been on a large-scale or smaller, it’s important to ensure that every individual gets the chance to unlearn their toxic behaviors.
What does RJ look like?
RJ looks different to many people and different communities, but it all hinges on the same values as stated above.
It often looks like providing a support system for both the person who harmed and the survivor. The support system would be a group of people who are able to check in on the individual’s needs and provide guidance towards healing. What that accountability looks like may differ from person to person or community to community.
RJ wants our communities to heal and that very first step is showing that you care enough to start.
To learn more about RJ, check out Restorative Justice: Community Action.
To learn how to implement RJ, check out the Creative Interventions Toolkit.