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Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice 

“Is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offence and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible."  - Howard Zehr, Zher Institute for Restorative Justice

Three assumptions underlie Restorative Justice:

  • When people and relationships are harmed, needs are created
  • The needs created by harms lead to obligations
  • The obligations are to heal and “put right” the harms; this is a just response.

Three principles of Restorative Justice reflect these assumptions: A just response…

  • Acknowledges and repairs the harm caused by, and revealed by, wrongdoing (restoration);
  • Encourages appropriate responsibility for addressing needs and repairing the harm (accountability);
  • Involves those impacted, including the community, in the resolution (engagement).

Restorative Justice 

“Is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.” -Howard Zehr, Zher Institute for Restorative Justice

Three assumptions underlie Restorative Justice:

  • When people and relationships are harmed, needs are created
  • The needs created by harms lead to obligations
  • The obligations are to heal and “put right” the harms; this is a just response.

Three principles of Restorative Justice reflect these assumptions: A just response…

  • Acknowledges and repairs the harm caused by, and revealed by, wrongdoing (restoration);
  • Encourages appropriate responsibility for addressing needs and repairing the harm (accountability);
  • Involves those impacted, including the community, in the resolution (engagement).
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ARTICLES
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CURRICULUM
OTHER

Articles

Consenting to Normal

By Hyejin Shim Original article found here In the #MeToo moment, the policing of those who speak up about varying forms of sexual violence and

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The Rapist Next Door

by John D. Sutter Videos and photography by Brandon Ancil Please visit | Original article found here Stand outside Ruth’s wooden home here in Alaska

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Media

European Forum for Restorative Justice

By | EFRJ

A list of movies on RJ (but also more in general on offenders´ rehabilitation, conflict resolution, peace, forgiveness and justice) has been collected during the EU-funded project “Accessibility and Initiation of Restorative Justice” (in the context of findings instruments for raising awareness on RJ). Tags: restorative justice, offenders´ rehabilitation, conflict resolution, peace, forgiveness, justice, european forum for restorative justice, video
Tags: restorative justice, chicago, arts, healing, circles, chicago
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Restoring Hope

By | Leah Varjacques

A look at how a community-based, arts-infused restorative justice program fits into the cultural movement fighting for hope and healing in an overwhelmingly punitive system.
Tags: restorative justice, chicago, arts, healing, circles, chicago
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A Different Approach to School Safety

by | Debbie Southorn

On January 16th 2013, President Obama announced a comprehensive plan to address gun violence. There were several proposals including those focused on school safety. Part of the plan enables U.S. public schools to hire up to 1,000 more school police or school counselors.
Tags: youth, justice, restorative justice, peace, forgiveness, healing, apology, harm, repair
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Restorative Justice Forum Voice

By | Ethan Viets-VanLear

On April 2, 2014, Aldermans Harry Osterman (48th Ward), Joe Moore (49th Ward), James Cappleman (46th Ward), the Children and Family Justice Center, and multiple North Side community agencies hosted a Restorative Justice Forum. Over 150 community members and juvenile justice advocates attended the forum which was comprised of two panels: restorative justice practices in schools and neighborhoods. Ethan Viets-VanLear is a part of Circles & Ciphers

Tags: restorative justice, circles, circles and ciphers, ethan viets van lear, harm, healing
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The Power of Circles

By | Ethan Viets-VanLear

Healing begets healing: restorative justice practices offer a pathway for individual healing for both the person who has been harmed and the person who perpetrated the harm. Restorative-Justice-icon2.jpgRather than defaulting to punitive measures that are more often than not ineffective in preventing further harm - and that disproportionately negatively impact people of color - restorative justice methods have the potential to support a collective healing of our judicial system and society. As you watch, ask yourself and others these questions for discussion: What is the impact of jail time and lost lives in communities across the United States? What might some interventions be that could prevent this kind of loss?

Tags: circle keeping, restorative justice, healing, ethan viets vanlear
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Chicago Restorative & Transformative Justice in Action

by | Gretchen Hasse

The following video was created by Gretchen Hasse. It was filmed at the Restorative and Transformative Justice in Action Gathering that took place in Chicago on August 17, 2012. The event was organized by Project NIA, Building Communities Ending Violence, and Community Justice for Youth Institute.

Tags: Restorative and Transformative Justice in Action Gathering, Chicago on August 17, 2012, circle keeping, training, youth, officers, parents, building
Play Video

Restorative Justice: Why do We Need It?

By | Brave New Films

There's an alternative to our current, failing criminal justice system.

Tagsrestorative justice, video, alternatives to prison industrial complex
Play Video

The Neuroscience of Restorative Justice

By | TED featuring Daniel Reisel

There's an alternative to our current, failing criminal justice system.

Tags: Daniel Reisel, ted x, neurobiology, rehabilitation, video
Play Video

Healing Justice

By | A World Trust Production | A Film by Shakti Butler

Tags: video,restorative justice
Play Video

Restorative Welcome and Reentry Circle

By | RJOY



Tags:restorative justice, video,
Play Video

Meeting with a Killer - Documentary

By | Lisa F. Jackson

Meeting with a Killer follows the family of a young, pregnant woman who was raped and brutally murdered in 1986 near Tomhall, Texas. The family has spent two years going through a victim offender dialogue program in an effort to finally meet one of the men who took their loved one away. 17 September 2001 (USA)

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Hollow Water

By | Bonnie Dickie

This documentary profiles the tiny Ojibway community of Hollow Water on the shores of Lake Winnipeg as they deal with an epidemic of sexual abuse in their midst. The offenders have left a legacy of denial and pain, addiction and suicide. The Manitoba justice system was unsuccessful in ending the cycle of abuse, so the community of Hollow Water took matters into their own hands. The offenders were brought home to face justice in a community healing and sentencing circle. Based on traditional practices, this unique model of justice reunites families and heals both victims and offenders. The film is a powerful tribute to one community's ability to heal and create change.

Tags: videos, survivors , harm doers, dialogues, r experiences of violence, restoration, healing

Storytelling & Organizing Project

by | Creative Interventions

Here you will find audio clips and transcripts from some of STOP's stories. You will also find information about our project partners, discussion questions and resources for using STOP stories in your own work to intervene in interpersonal violence, as well as information on how to get involved in the project.

Tags: Audio clips, transcripts, stories, intervention

Transform Chicago

by | Multiple Contributors

This page features Chicago-specific videos/films that address themselves to restorative and/or transformative justice. This list is a work in progress and we will be including more videos in the future. If you have a video/film that you would like us to feature here, please send us the link at transformchi2013@gmail.com.

Tags:  video, Chicago, restorative justice, transformative justice

Restorative Posters

by | Representing Justice Visually
We are hoping that people will use the posters and the questions in every community. We want the questions to foster dialogue and lead to less punishment and more accountability in our communities. We have to pre-figure the world in which we want to live. Through this project, we are disseminating a different set of questions that might transform our punitive mindsets and perhaps push more people to embrace a more restorative model of addressing harms.

Tags: posters , images, questions for people who have caused harm , how to repair harm, naming harm

Stories of Violence, Accountability, and Healing

By | Ever After

Until we tell new and more complete stories about violence and its aftermath, we will never be able to transform our responses to it or to keep people safe and well. With Ever After, we are telling those stories: stories of who have survived harm and people who have committed it; stories of violence, accountability, and healing; and stories that will help us see things as they are and imagine what else is possible.

Tags: videos, survivors , harm doers, dialogues, r experiences of violence, restoration, healing
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Curriculum

salvage-toolkit-final-version
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Planning to Identify, Prevent and Challenge Gendered Violence in Activism 2.51 MB

Planning to Identify, Prevent and Challenge Gendered Violence in Activism

Workshop by | Project Salvage

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Cities of Peace 4.00 KB

Cities of Peace Curriculum

Workshop by | Cities of Peace

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Other Resources | Links

Life Comes from It_ Navajo Justice Concepts
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Life Comes From It: Navajo Justice Concepts 4.00 KB

Life Comes From It: Navajo Justice Concepts

By | Chief Justice Emeritus Robert Yazzie of the Navajo Supreme Court

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Tikkun | Restorative Justice 4.00 KB

Tikkun | Restorative Justice

Resources

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Conflict as Property 4.00 KB

Conlicts as Property

By | Nils Christie

The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice

Resources

The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, founded in autumn 2012, is a program of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. The Zehr Institute advocates for restorative justice as a social movement, and is also a convener of spaces where knowledge about restorative justice practices and programs can be shared among practitioners and learners, by facilitating conversations and cultivating connections through activities such as conferences, webinars and both in-person and online courses. As part of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, the Zehr Institute is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

WEBINAR: TRANSFORMING VIOLENCE: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, VIOLENT CRIME, AND AN END TO MASS INCARCERATION

By | The Zehr Institute

Guest Danielle Sered will discuss the use of restorative justice in cases of serious violent crime such as robbery and assault. Common Justice, the organization she leads, operates a restorative justice program that serves as an alternative to prison in the adult criminal justice system. Sered proposes that responses to violence should be survivor-centered, accountability-based, safety-driven, and racially equitable. She will explore the potential of restorative justice applications through each of those lenses, discuss the program’s partnership with the district attorney’s office, describe the violence intervention model the program employs, and invite conversation regarding the potential for more diversion of violence in the movement as a whole.
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Transformative Justice

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