Every year, on the third week of November, individual pioneers and well-established organisations working in the field of restorative justice across the world organise a series of events and campaigns to raise awareness about restorative justice.
Restorative justice is a process of independent, facilitated contact, which supports constructive dialogue between a victim and a person who has harmed (whether this be an adult, a child, a young person or a representative of a corporate or other body) arising from an offence or alleged offence
(Scottish Government Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland, 2017, p8)
This means that restorative justice is a voluntary process, whereby a neutral, trained facilitator enables communication in a safe way in both directions between the person who has been harmed and the person who has harmed. The communication can involve conversation in a face-to-face meeting, or be in writing or by video, or be indirect whereby the facilitator communicates questions and answers between the participants. It is key that participation is voluntary for all participants, and that the person who has harmed has acknowledged and taken responsibility for the basic facts of that offence and that harm has been caused to the person harmed.
Restorative justice is a powerful process and can be of great benefit all parties involved. It can provide answers to the many questions people have when they have been harmed by crime and allow those responsible to examine their behaviour, take responsibility for it and apologise or compensate for harm or damage caused.
Sacro offers a number of restorative justice services across Scotland and many Sacro services apply restorative practices to resolve conflict and address harm.
Listen to our latest podcast, where we speak with Gemma Fraser, Head of Restorative Justice and Recovery at Community Justice Scotland and get her take on the development of RJ in Scotland.
For an in-depth look at RJ in Scotland, visit the Restorative Justice Forum (Scotland) website.
