Celebrating and promoting the diverse and innovative ways we are implementing restorative approaches!
Spotlighting 4 areas and offering resources for:
♦ Environmental Restorative Justice
♦ Hate Crimes
♦ Sexual Offences
♦ Restorative Schools
Environmental Restorative Justice
Now more than ever we need to honour and respect our interdependency with all the natural world. Indigenous teachings and ways of being have so much to teach us.
“The earth is not ours, it is a treasure we hold in trust for our children and grand-children. We must be worthy of that trust.” ∼ African proverb, shared by Kofi Annan
Check out resources:
- Environmental restorative justice and ongoing activities of the Working Group on Restorative Environmental Justice, EFRJ
- Special issue on environmental restorative justice, International Journal of Restorative Justice, Issue 1, 2021
- “Restorative Justice and Healing the Environment” by John Braithwaite. Browse his extensive library and read more of his work, including about responsive regulation
- “Environmental Crime and Restorative Justice” by Mark Hamilton, 2021
- “The Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Restorative Justice“, Editors Brunilda Pali, Miranda Forsyth, and Felicity Tepper. Springer International Publishing, 2022
- A report, “Restorative Justice Responses to Environmental Harm“, and article, “Advancing Rights of Nature through Restorative Justice“, by Femke Wijdekop
- “Green Criminology and Restorative Justice: natural allies?” by Femke Wijdekop and Anneke van Hoek
- Article: “Conceptualising restorative justice in the energy Transition: Changing the perspectives of fossil fuels”, by Mohammad Hazrati and Raphael James Heffron, 2021
An effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity and pandemic crises is to re-wild. Applauding Re:wild with Leonardo DiCaprio, scientists, Indigenous peoples and leaders working to protect and restore – for all wildkind!
Hate Crime
We too often turn against each other in judgment and violence. Restorative approaches have something to offer.
Why Me? Launched a three-year project to increase access to restorative justice for hate crime in the UK.
Hate Crime Video Series by RJ4All.
The project Let’s Go By Talking is exploring innovative paths through restorative justice for victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes. Coordinated by the Universitat de Barcelona, with a team led by Dr Olga Jubany.
Sulah – Community Justice Initiatives and the Coalition of Muslim Women Kitchener-Waterloo have partnered to offer restorative responses to identity-based harm.
In the news:
Book: “Hate Crime and Restorative Justice: Exploring Causes, Repairing Harms” by Mark Austin Walters; and he has written articles like “Repairing the Harms of Hate Crime: Towards a Restorative Justice Approach”
And publications by Theo Gavrielides, including “Contextualizing Restorative Justice for Hate Crime“.
Look at the work and publications of the “Working Group on Polarisation, Hate and Violent Extremism”, European Forum for Restorative Justice.
There are so many more great resources to become aware and overcome racism and prejudice. For example, we recommend “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi.
Life After Hate, founded by former extremists, is committed to helping people leave the violent far-right to connect with our shared humanity and lead compassionate lives.
It’s time to lift each other up, rather than tear each other down. There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’, it’s just us.
For inspiration and uplifting examples, read our prior post “Humanity in the face of Extremism“.
Sexual Offences
As this quote in an article from Community Legal Centres NSW says, we need to offer those harmed informed choices, including restorative justice.
Marlee Liss made history when her sexual assault case became the 1st in North America to conclude with restorative justice through the courts. She is now an advocate.
A report by Why Me? “Using restorative approaches for domestic and sexual abuse: A personal choice”, October 2021.
We also must work with those who harm.
Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA): reducing sexual victimization by assisting people who have committed sexual offences to lead responsible, constructive, and accountable lives in their communities. Programs offered in Canada and beyond.
⇒ Webinar: Managing Sexual Offenders and reintegration into the community of persons convicted of a sexual offense. Organized by Criminal Justice Platform Europe
There are various resources, such as:
- Restorative Justice in Cases of Sexual Violence: An Annotated Bibliography, Department of Justice, Government of Canada
- Restorative Justice and Sexual Violence, European Forum for Restorative Justice
Also see the work and publications of the Working Group on Gender Based Violence - “The Little Book of Restorative Justice for Sexual Abuse“, by Judah Oudshoorn, Lorraine Amstutz and Michelle Jackett
- “Sexual Offending and Restoration” by Mark Yantzi
- Report from the Working Group on Restorative Initiatives for Sexual Violence, University of Alberta, 2018
There are many inspiring stories from survivors and those with lived experience.
We applaud and encourage you to learn about support services in your region. In Vancouver, BC: Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre
* Trigger warning – some details of harm included in the following:
- “Why I chose to meet the man who raped me“
- “How One Woman Reimagined Justice for Her Rapist“
- “‘I felt lighter’: Restorative Justice gives sex crime survivors a different way forward“
- “How a Radical New Approach to Dealing With Sexual Assaults May Heal Trauma“
Restorative Schools
Restorative practices are expanding in schools around the world! A restorative lens offers an approach to teaching, learning and building relational school communities. Creating schools without punishment is possible. We recommend a whole school and whole district approach.
There are so many opportunities to engage and learn!
We offer lots of resources in our prior post dedicated to this topic – Education: Time for Change
See also the work and resources of the Restorative Schools Working Group, European Forum for Restorative Justice. For example, their free downloadable publication “Restorative Schools”.
Watch for events and offerings like webinars ongoing around the world. Just one example:
⇒ Webinar with resources: Restorative School Culture
with Michelle Stowe (Ireland) and Nancy Riestenberg (USA)
Co-organized by European Forum for Restorative Justice and National Association of Community and Restorative Justice
The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice offers resources, including ongoing webinars and recordings of past webinars, all freely available.
We are delighted to work with schools, including the Sea to Sky School District, Sunshine Coast School District, and Vancouver School District. Check out our social media for information and celebrations of this work!
Let us know – What are your inspirations and examples? We’d love to hear from you!