Making restorative justice possible

Each March, two international days question the potential of restorative justice in serious harms, where crimes are the understandable manifestation of systemic issues and sufferings in our societies.

8 March celebrates the International Women Day marking the achievements of the women’s rights movement. In 2021, special attention will be given to the role of women in leadership roles as innovators and community organisers as well as in the care roles as health workers and caregivers during the covid-19 pandemic.

11 March is the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism since the 2004’s Madrid bombings. On this day, victims of terrorism and their relatives receive a tribute and commemoration and communities reflect on how to prevent further extreme violence to occur and on how to support victims of terrorism.

In the past years, the EFRJ engaged in several research projects and policy work to better understand the potential of restorative justice in “impossible” serious cases, such as violent extremism and gender-based violence. Among others, it established two Working Groups of members engaged in these topics and published briefs on the application of restorative justice in these areas.

On 8 March 2021 (4 - 6 pm CET), several members of the Working Group on Gender-Based Violence will take part in an online panel discussion, open to the wide public. The event is open to a wider public of professionals working on restorative justice, criminal justice, victim support, community work, and others interested in these topics.

Register below to the webinar. A small fee is asked to support the EFRJ's work. EFRJ members benefit of a 50% discount. 

The following members of the EFRJ Working Group on Gender-Based Violence and Restorative Justice will present during this webinar:

• Valentina Bonini (Italy) - Exclusion criteria in the law to access restorative justice in cases of violence against women.
• Linda Millington & Janet Clark (UK) – A facilitator’s practical experience on restorative justice with cases of sexual and domestic abuse.
• Pascale Frank (Belgium) – An holistic restorative approach to respond to domestic violence in Family Justice Centers.
• Marie Keenan (Ireland) – The tragedy and sorrow of familicide: can restorative justice help?
• Alexia Stourati (Greece) - Healing circles as a safe space of sharing and empowerment for survivors of sexual violence.

Their interventions will be followed by a conversation with the audience, moderated by Tim Chapman (Chair of the EFRJ Board).

Members of the Working Group on Violent Extremism are currently working on a position paper on the potential of restorative justice in cases of polarisation, hate crime and violent extremism. This will be published in Autumn 2021. 

In the past months, the EFRJ cooperated with the Radicalisation Awareness Network to write the overview "The potential of restorative justice for P/CVE and for repairing harm to victims of terrorism". This paper will be officially launched today on the RAN website (know more about the RAN working group on Victims of Terrorism). On the occasion of the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism, we re-launch three recent publications on this topic.