What is Restorative Justice?
The principles of restorative justice find roots in Indigenous healing traditions and non-retaliatory responses to violence which are endorsed by many faith communities.
Restorative justice is a philosophy. It uses many different processes and is guided by a set of principles and values for how a community and its internal system responds to conflict. It views the incident as a violation of relationships – relationships with those who have been harmed, with themselves, and with the Creator. It is a disruption of peace in the community rather than an offence against the state. In Canada during the 1970s, a restorative justice movement was developed to reform the criminal justice system using restorative processes.
Restorative justice is an approach to resolving harm focusing on positive communication, accountability, and healing, rather than the Canadian justice system approach of solely punishing the offender. The goal is to restore relationships, promote healing for those harmed, and those doing the harm.
In restorative justice, all parties affected by a situation are brought together to discuss the harm that was done and work toward solutions that address the needs of everyone involved. This process may involve face-to-face meetings, mediated dialogues, or community circles, depending on the specific case and the people involved.
Rather than focusing on retribution (punishment), restorative justice aims to:
- Transform the process from retribution to reconciliation.
- Repair harm for those who have been harmed, giving them the opportunity to voice their concerns and feel supported while those who have done the harm acknowledge responsibility.
- Promote accountability by encouraging those who have done harm to take responsibility and make amends.
- Promote ownership of the solution, so that it is the responsibility of those who’ve been harmed and those doing the harm.
- Promote healing by encouraging both the ones harmed and those doing the harm to address their concerns and make a plan. It’s an opportunity for those who have harmed to be reintegrated back into the community rather than face stigmatization.
This approach is used in schools, juvenile justice systems, and even within communities and workplaces to resolve conflicts and foster understanding.
The Supreme Court of Canada recognizes restorative justice approaches as valid. In 2002, the United Nations adopted a resolution on the Declaration of Basic Principles on the use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters. Today civil issues can use mediation as a process to resolve family disputes.
FHQTC Restorative Justice Values
Restorative justice is an opportunity to transform unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict to safe and different approaches. It provides a bridge between traditional Indigenous ways of dealing with social issues and the adversarial Canadian justice system.
Traditionally, Indigenous ways dealing with conflict begins with the belief that crime is a cry for help. The individual doing harm is not in balance and needs to participate in practices to bring them into a relative state of balance. The relationships they have with others, their Creator and themselves is broken, or the person walks without teachings. The onus is on those who do the harm and those harmed to reach a cooperative or collaborative agreement in how they continue to walk in life.
Restorative justice values include the following perspectives:
- Crime is about harm done to participants and the community. Addressing crime in a meaningful way means the response is focused on the harm done.
- Those who have been harmed need to have a primary and active role in determining what needs to be addressed and a voice in how the resolution should happen.
- A focus on punishment is an inadequate response to addressing the harms done by crime. Community will give a person who has done harm the opportunity to be accountable for the hurt they have caused. Having them actively participate in making right the wrong is of greater value than punishment.
- Active community participation is essential to creating safe and healthy communities.
