Restorative Justice Week 2009

Events

National Restorative Justice Symposium
"Communities Responding to Human Need"
and National Ron Wiebe Award Ceremony

Restorative Justice & Women
Workshop Responses, Nov 19/09

NATIONAL RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYMPOSIUM
St. John ’s NL

What are the challenges of restorative justice processes for women victims?

• Getting public support
• Assumption of powerlessness on part of victim – how do service providers reframe this?
• Having women believe that someone is going to listen
• Pressure for the woman to participate, and be judged either way
• Fear of women being re-victimized – are there any guarantees?
• Preparation for process may not be careful or thorough enough
• Victim being fully informed – rights, entire process, outcomes
• Principles vs practice – possibly giving false hope due to lack of resources, & supports in the aftermath of the process
• Silos – difficult to implement across sectors
• Keeping basic rights in forefront
• Geography – urban & rural constraints of resources, cultural mores/biases
• ADR & RJ – different understandings/focus
• Process is only as good as the facilitator
• Trust for the process & facilitators
• Anger & trauma – complicated issues
• Length of process

What are the strengths of restorative justice processes for women victims?

• Opportunities to include supportive programming, networks, build relationships, safe communication
• Options for different/surrogate forms of dialogue
• Victim-focused philosophy – essentially a good starting place
• Opportunities for voice
• Empowerment for all parties – being able to have a say in the process
• Transparency of process – involvement of community, acknowledgement of harm, accountability
• Resources & people allocated to process
• Putting the “personal” into process – woman has a voice