Restorative Practice Resources Tagged With: Australia

'Victim-survivors of domestic, family, and sexual violence who participated in restorative justice in the ACT felt safer, better supported, and more in control because of their involvement in the scheme, an Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) evaluation of the ACT’s restorative justice scheme has found.

“This evaluation found restorative justice provides an important mechanism for persons harmed to seek redress in the aftermath of domestic and family violence and sexual violence victimisation, and for persons responsible to address the factors associated with their offending,” Siobhan Lawler, senior research analyst at the AIC, said.'

Victim-survivors of violence who participated in restorative justice in the ACT felt safer, better supported, and more in control.

 WA Commissioner for Equal Opportunity Dr John Byrne spoke at the Restorative Justice - Empowering Victims conference held by the Department of Justice recently.

Dr Byrne spoke about how increased awareness of sexual harassment had improved workplace responses to victims' allegations.

He said the #MeToo movement that started over a decade ago has steadily built momentum by publicising inappropriate sexualised behaviour.

"In my opinion this has had an effect on reducing sexual harassment in the workplace," he said.

Dr Byrne went on to explain how the Commission's complaint process can provide restorative justice to victims of sexual and racial harassment.

Truth-telling has been key to restoring trust and repairing relationships in post-conflict settings around the world. Historical truth-telling is increasingly seen as an important part of restorative justice in settler-colonial contexts.

Non-Indigenous Australians need to actively seek the truth about past violence and injustice against Indigenous Australians.

Academic article: Extract:

The Australian National University and Australian Institute of Criminology were commissioned by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Justice and Community Safety Directorate to undertake an impact evaluation of the restorative justice conferencing program. There were two components to this evaluation.

The first involved the analysis of surveys of offenders, victims and their support persons conducted by the Restorative Justice (RJ) Unit following each conference.

The second involved using criminal history data provided by ACT Policing to conduct an analysis of reoffending among the 1,143 participants in restorative justice conferencing (RJC) compared with 4,668 young offenders dealt with at the same time through the normal process, whose criminal history had been tracked until September 2016.

An instructional manual on restorative justice in schools from world-leading experts; this 'how to' guide offers guidance on the issues of carrying out restorative practices, including coping with day-to-day problems, and offers worksheets for practical daily use.

Beginning with challenges to orthodox thinking about behaviour change, it goes on to describe a multitude of approaches to respond to minor incidents in school settings, then takes a close look at using restorative approaches to bullying, before it finally focuses on the formal end of the continuum (including conference preparation and facilitation).

This book is reflective of the evolution of processes and responses from the most serious of incidents through to minor everyday issues, making this an essential resource for all school staff.

WHAT ARE LISTENING CIRCLES? Listening Circles provide time, a safe space and an authentic audience where the voices of those who have been impacted by the sexual abuse crisis within the Catholic Church.

Listening Circles are restorative in nature and they provide time, space and an authentic audience for the voice of those who have been impacted in some way by this crisis. The created space must be both sacred and safe. The voice of the process says, ‘we all care’ and ‘you matter’.

The process has agreements that guide interactions. The agreements are transparent and help establish and maintain respect and equity. Listening Circles are NOT occasions for discussion or debate or decision making. Within this domain, there are no attempts to solve problems or to level blame.

Professional Certificate of Restorative Justice Short course Restorative justice is a professional development course designed to provide educators with guidance on how to build strong relationships in classrooms. You will learn how to create supportive and safe learning environments while at the same time being responsive to incidents of harm and conflict.

Abstract

Restorative justice has long been positioned as a justice mechanism that prioritises emotion and its expression. It is also unique in its ritual elements, such as the ritualized expression of anger and the symbolic exchange of apology and forgiveness.

This paper draws on insights from research and practice in restorative justice and recent developments in criminology/legal theory and the philosophy of justice to suggest some ways that the broader criminal justice landscape can incorporate elements of successful restorative justice rituals into its practice.

I argue that the unique elements of restorative justice- its ability to harness anger into a deliberative ritual for victims and offenders, its focus on symbolic reparations, and its ability to engender a form of forward-looking forgiveness that promotes civility can provide a framework for rethinking how criminal justice institutions operate.

'Fleming is also sceptical of the benefits of legislative change to address the issue. But instead of an app she believes Australia should move towards a restorative justice model to address sexual assault matters.

Restorative justice is not a new concept but it gained fresh relevance during the MeToo movement in the US. It can encompass a variety of survivor-led actions to repair the harm caused by a sexual assault, including sometimes bringing the accuser and the accused together “to discuss what happened, what needs to happen, and find a way of healing or reparations”.'

'Emotional literacy is a term bandied about in education and mainstream media, but what is it exactly? And more importantly, how does it enhance our work in the field of restorative practice? Being literate in something means you have a sound understanding of the concept and its structural elements along with the ability to flexibly apply the concept in various contexts.

Having emotional literacy then suggests a sound understanding of emotions – for example, their origins, their purpose, neurological and physiological components, their evolution over time, cultural distinctions, etc., and be able to use that information to benefit (or not) self or other in a variety of settings. '

'The Justice Reform Initiative is an alliance of people who share long-standing professional experience, lived experience and/or expert knowledge of the justice system, who are further supported by a movement of Australians of goodwill from across the country and across the political spectrum.

We believe jailing is failing and that there is an urgent need to reduce the number of people in Australian prisons. We believe that the over-use of prisons is fundamentally harmful to those in prison, their family and friends, and the broader community.

We believe that prisons are ineffective as a deterrent, ineffective at reducing crime, and ineffective at addressing the drivers of criminal justice system involvement. We believe that the over-use of incarceration is a waste of human potential and a misuse of taxpayer dollars.

The evidence shows that the majority of people entering prison usually arrive there because of an underpinning cycle of disadvantage and that prison both exacerbates and entrenches a broader cycle of disadvantage, which needs to be broken.

We believe the moment has come for change, with a combination of political, economic and social forces coalescing to create an opportunity to genuinely challenge and respond to our overreliance on incarceration – and offer up an alternative vision.'

Adam Voigt has been teaching and leading schools in some of Australia’s most challenging locations for more than twenty-five years. He has a history of transforming student lives and teacher practice by fostering school cultures that are strong, relational and hallmarked by stakeholder trust.

More than ever, we need inspired and inspiring teachers and school leaders. Yet their status and morale have never been lower.

Restoring the pride, focus and community perception of our educators is now a national imperative that involves cultivating a positive account of teaching expertise in every Australian school.

The future of a respected teaching workforce lies in a brave, new frontier of work. It starts with applying the principles of Restorative Practices to the contemporary school context – creatively and practically.