
Summary
Restorative Justice is used in many different ways, places and by different people across the world to resolve a situation and/or re-build relationships after an event or conflict
Description
Restorative justice interventions are used by mental health professionals, social and youth justice services to resolve conflict. A restorative intervention can take many forms, including:
- Victim offender conference or mediation: formal face to face meeting between victim and offender led by a trained facilitator. Supporters for both parties can also attend, usually family members;
- A community conference: similar to a victim offender conference but involves members of the community who have been affected by a crime;
- Indirect communication: involves messages being passed back and forth between victims and offender by a trained facilitator. Participants do not meet and messages can be passed via letter, recorded video or audio.
Restorative approaches can also be used in schools to prevent or alleviate problems such as bullying, classroom disruption, truancy, antisocial behaviour and disputes between students, families and members of staff.
Who is it for?
Safeguarding and school professionals, families, young people
Find out more
See the Restorative Justice Council’s website for how this approach can be used in a range of settings, including Youth Offending Teams, Schools and the Community.