Category: Articles
-
Cases that Should Not Be Referred to Restorative Justice
As restorative justice advocates, we need to shift the conversation about what types of cases are not appropriate for restorative justice. The true risk to the effectiveness, impact, and perceived legitimacy of our work is not in making the process available to survivors of sexual harm or other more severe crimes, but rather in offering…
-
As School Contracts with Police are Called into Question, Consider Restorative Justice
We are in a time of immense change in our country and one thing that is being reconsidered is the role of police and punitive sanctions more broadly in schools. Research has shown that the presence of police and punitive sanctions in schools often drives students —particularly minority and poor students—out of school, resulting in…
-
Restorative Practices and the Elevation of Women’s Voices
If there is one thing that I think would make a significant positive difference in the trajectory of life on this planet, it is the elevation of marginalized voices including racial minorities, the economically disenfranchised, and women. It is important that these voices are heard not only for the principle of equal voice and the…
-
Q&A Facilitating Circles Online
Question: I want to continue to hold circles with my students/staff during this time of social distancing. I feel we need the connection now more than ever! How can I facilitate a circle through video chat without the ability to actually sit in a circle together or pass a talking piece? Answer: I agree! Cultivating…
-
Strengths-Based Restorative Justice Agreements: Using Art to Make Things Right
Restorative justice practitioners place a great deal of emphasis on being strengths-based. This means identifying and supporting an individual’s assets: the positive passions, skills, interests, and connections that make them unique. Taking the time to identify these strengths with participants has many benefits. It helps to combat feelings of stigmatizing shame by showing that you…
-
Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Facilitator Neutrality in Pre-Conferences
The pre-conference is, in many ways, the most important part of the restorative justice process. A bad conference, more often than not, is the fault of poor pre-conferencing. Pre-conferencing refers to the individual meetings that the facilitators hold with the responsible party and harmed party and their respective support people prior to bringing the parties…
-
Restorative Justice and #MeToo
The New York Times recently published an opinion piece titled #MeToo Doesn’t Always Have to Mean Prison. It is an excellent article that highlights the benefits of making a restorative justice response available to those who have experienced sexual harm. As the article notes, “#MeToo rightly emphasizes victims’ healing and accountability for the people who harmed them.…
-
The Power of Restorative Justice Education
Learning about restorative justice changed my life. I remember vividly the first time I read The Little Book Restorative Justice when it was assigned in a Nonviolence class at Colorado College. I sat up in my dorm room bed underlining almost every line and drawing big stars in the margins. I was so excited to…
-
Article on Sustained Restorative Dialogue Published in Contemporary Justice Review
I am very excited to have an article Amy Giles-Mitson and I wrote on the Sustained Restorative Dialogue process published in the Contemporary Justice Review. The Sustained Restorative Dialogue was an effort to apply restorative processes to addressing the broader culture that gives rise to sexual harm. Organizing and facilitating the dialogue was one of…
-
What is Restorative Justice?
The exact definition of restorative justice has been a source of great debate and remains contentious within the restorative justice field. Broadly speaking, two general conceptions of restorative justice have been put forth: a process conception and a values conception.[1] The process conception sees restorative justice as, “a process that brings together all stakeholders affected…
Lindsey Pointer, Ph.D. 