Defining restorative justice

Restorative justice places the victim with the offender at the centre of the criminal justicee process. In a typical "restorative justice" process the parties affected by harmful behaviour meet in order to seek a common understanding of what has happened and to determine collectively how best to deal with the aftermath.

Restorative justice has developed in contrast to "retributive justice", whereby authorities respond to social problems by imposing punishment on individuals who breach social rules .

Instead of defining crime in terms of a violation against the state, it defines crime in terms of the violation of one person by another. The focus is upon providing a forum for the offender to take responsibility and to make amends rather than to establish guilt and exact punishment.

Victims, rather than being spectators to a process which they do not fully understand, participate and speak their feelings directly to the person who has caused the injury. Victims also attempt to seek answers to questions about why the crime occurred and participate in the process of working out how the injury and damage can be repaired.

At the same time, offenders have an opportunity to admit their offence, to understand the consequences of their behaviour on others and to participate in how to make things right. Restorative Justice is a philosophy that informs practices injustice systems, schools, child ren's and family services, and organisations.

See also: Zehr 1995; Zehr 1990; Braithwaite 1989.

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Victorian Association for Restorative Justice, Inc.
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