Restorative Justice and Trauma
Restorative justice is not a new concept and is a non-judicial, non-legal form of community based corrections (justice.gc.ca, 2015). In the 1970’s there was a movement consisting of prisoner’s advocates and those in academia to recognize and protect the rights of offenders, to limit the use of jails and prisons, and to promote bettering living conditions for those who are incarcerated (justice.gc.ca, 2015). This movement was perpetuated by a deeper understanding by social scientists that criminal behavior is often part of negative social conditions (justice.gc.ca, 2015). This came together at a time when there was a movement away from the adversarial model and started incorporating mediation, arbitration, and negotiation (justice.gc.ca, 2015). Additionally, there was an increased demand on the criminal justice system to allow the victim to have more control in the justice process (justice.gc.ca, 2015). Since the first victim-offender mediation program in Canada in 1974, many similar programs have been established throughout Canada and internationally (justice.gc.ca, 2015). Restorative justice in the United States began with mediation, a neutral third party starts a dialogue between the victim and offender who speak about how the crime affected them; share information; develop a reasonable restitution agreement; and develop a plan for following up (Sullivan & Tift, 2011).
Restorative justice is used as a viable response to the harm caused by crime (Armour et. al, 2004). The American Bar Association promotes the use of victim offender mediation (VOM), this being the oldest, and most frequently utilized form of restorative justice (Armour et. al, 2004). Restorative justice seeks to elevate crime victims and community members by holding offenders accountable to the individuals they have wronged, and restore the emotional and material losses of the victims which provides opportunities for dialogue, negotiation, and problem solving (Armour, et. al, 2004).
Restorative justice has been becoming more popular due to its ability to achieve emotional repair and reduce vengefulness and possibly increase empathy, allowing for a forgiveness response (Armour, et. al, 2004). Just because connections can be made between restorative justice and forgiveness, it does not mean that the forgiveness is a consistent side-effect of restorative justice (Armour, et al., 2004). By having victims participate in restorative justice it is possible to reduce: resentment, bitterness, hostility, hatred, anger, etc. these emotions combined can create unforgiveness (Armour, et. al, 2004). These emotions erupt due to the victim’s sense of injustice (Armour, et. al., 2004). Restorative justice models try to decrease these emotions and give the victim the opportunity to achieve a desired outcome, along with the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with the offender (Armour, et. al, 2004).
By accepting the opportunity to use a restorative justice model, instead of the criminal justice system, I feel that the victim will be able to heal after the crime. Van Der Kolk (2015), summarizes that the negative events in our lives are stored, in some way, within our bodies. Armour, et. al (2004), argue that experimental studies show that by participating in restorative justice models, levels of unforgiving motivations, anger, and arousal are reduced and there is an increase in empathy, forgiveness, positive emotions, and control. With the reduction of anger and arousal, cortisol levels decrease (Rousseau, 2018). The importance of forgiveness and restorative justice lies in their combined ability to encourage and facilitate victim healing (Armour, et. al, 2004). One of the more important aspects of restorative justice is restoring the victim’s sense of safety and security (Armour, et. al, 2004).
In some instances a victim may not initially want to forgive the offender and that is a normal first response. However, throughout the restorative justice process, the lines of communication are open between victim and offender, which may, lead to empathy and forgiveness. I do not feel that restorative justice would work for violent crimes but, for more misdemeanor infractions.
Armour, M. P., Umbreit, M. S., & Worthingtong, E. L. (2004, February 18). The paradox of forgiveness in restorative justice [PDF]. Retrieved from https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-5544626-dt-content-rid-19975212_1/courses/18sprgmetcj720_o1/course/media/metcj720_M6_Armour.pdf
Rousseau, D. (2018, April 26). Module 3: Neurobiology of trauma [PDF]. Retrieved from https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_44854_1&content_id=_5544575_1&framesetWrapped=true
Van Der Kolk, B. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Books.