You Do WHAT?

“You do WHAT with rapists?” The incredulous look on the faces of the people I was chatting with were priceless. I took a deep breath and explained my journey and my views on what I perceived would feel like justice in my situation. I spoke about the impact restorative justice had on me and that I was an advocate of the gentle and emotive journey that not only allowed me to share my story, but offenders to share their stories too and reflect on making their own amends.

I looked around. Jaws were open, eyes were widened and bodies leaning in. I do admit, that it is a rather unusual concept to us, although many places around the world practice varying avenues of restorative justice with great success. While it is emerging in the youth sector, not a great deal is happening in the field of restorative justice for adults in Queensland, Australia, particularly after incarceration.

It is not simply rapists either. I have worked with those with varying degrees of offending including drug dealers and those in bikie gangs, thieves, domestic violence abusers, pedophiles, you name it. Contrary to the belief among prisoners that sexual offences are the worst, restorative justice does not discriminate in such a way.

All offending has created harm.

This, when not addressed, reflected upon and unpacked, can be a shameful callous that is picked apart time and again by offenders as they seek to suppress the pain engulfing them in a continuous, downward spiral of self-contempt. This can lead to self-harm and can increase the chances of further crimes being committed, leaving law-abiding citizens vulnerable to harm. The idea, is to start taking tangible steps to move away from the cycle of crime and move toward the betterment of self and the realization of another way forward.

This is just the beginning of what I want seen as part of the corrections process. Up until now, restorative justice has not been a practice incorporated into centers and even to this day, meets great resistance. This is for a wide number of reasons, but I believe that at the core of it all, we truly need to work together to bring about healing, restoration and start becoming ‘unbroken’ together.

If you, or your organization are curious about the process of restorative justice and would like to learn about the process further, feel free to get in contact.