PW V - 12 June - Poznań

PANEL 80' Institutional Violence and Restorative Justice in Emergent Fields of Application: The Challenge of Systemic Change (Aertsen, BE; Carroll, UK; Chapman, UK; Llewellyn, CA; Rocchi, IT; Sá Rebelo, PT; Stouraiti, GR) - EFRJ WG

Where there is a growing experience in doing restorative justice in particular institutional contexts, such as religious institutions and educational settings, new fields of application appear. The panel will discuss experiences in these relatively new, emergent fields: child protection systems (Alexandra Stouraiti), health care services (Janine Carroll), (private and public) corporations (Tim Chapman) and the military (Jennifer Llewellyn), while also discussing the challenges and the potential of addressing systemic change in religious and other institutions (Ivo Aertsen, Sara Rocchi, Marta Sá Rebelo). A special focus will be on the intertwining nature of the micro-, meso- and macro-levels. Most of the presenters are active in the EFRJ Working Group on Organisational Abuses and Restorative Justice. The panel will consist of 7 short presentations of max. 7 minutes each related to particular institutional fields. The remaining 30 minutes will be reserved for contributions by and exchange with the audience.

• Ivo Aertsen is Professor Emeritus at KU Leuven. He is co-Editor of The International Journal of Restorative Justice and Co-General Editor of The International Encyclopaedia of Restorative Justice.
• Janine Carroll is Director of Restorative Now (UK) and an internationally recognised expert in the field of Restorative Practice facilitation, training and culture change. She is an accredited Advanced Practitioner and Trainer with the Restorative Justice Council (RJC).
• Tim Chapman is Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde. He is currently leading a major restorative justice programme in Ireland addressing child sexual abuse by priests and acting as a consultant of the RJC’s programme on the Post Office/Fujitsu scandal over the use of the Horizon software.
• Jennifer Llewellyn is Professor of Law at Dalhousie University, Chair in Restorative Justice and Director of the Restorative Research, Innovation and Education Lab. Her research inter-ests include legal theory, relational theory, international human rights law, truth commissions and transitional justice.
• Sara Rocchi is Assistant Professor. Her main field of research is Sociology and Theory of organization. Her work investigates the dark side of organizations, encompassing abuse, wrongdoing, and deviance, through an organizational and multi-level analytical lens.
• Marta Sá Rebelo is Ph.D. researcher and teaching assistant at the Portuguese Catholic University. Her research fields are human rights, restorative justice and clergy sexual abuse.
• Alexandra Stouraiti is an attorney, mediator and psychodramatist, currently a PhD candidate in Social Work at the University of West Attica. As a researcher, she focuses on the harm and repair of gender-based violence and the child protection system. 

PANEL 80' Criminal Justice Decision-Makers and the Formerly Incarcerated Journeying Together (Ehnow, Donnelly & Chappell, US)

The Catholic Criminal Justice Reform Network (CCJRN) has been sponsoring and hosting restorative justice dialogues between decision-makers in the criminal justice system and those impacted by the same system. In the last four years, the CCJRN has hosted one national conference and more than a dozen regional conferences across the United States. These conferences bring together judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement and corrections leaders with those impacted by the criminal justice system, notably victims and offenders. The founder of CCJRN, the Honorable Thomas Donnelly, will lead the panel discussion. The Judge will be joined with Deacon Bobby Ehnow, PhD, the architect and planner of four regional conferences, and Mr. George Chappell, CEO of Restoring Citizens, a California based non-profit organization. Deacon Bobby and George are both formerly incarcerated men that have sponsored and participated in several restorative dialogue conferences with Judge Donnelly and other justice system decision-makers.

• Thomas More Donnelly is a Cook County (Chicago) Circuit Judge, faculty member with the National Judicial College, founder of the Illinois Judicial College, adjunct law professor at Loyola Law School, and Founding President of the Catholic Criminal Justice Reform Network.
• Deacon Bobby Ehnow is the director for the Office for Life, Peace, and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, President of Restorative Justice California, and adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University and Santa Clara University. He is formerly incarcerated and presently an ordained deacon with the Catholic Church.
• George Chappell is the CEO and co-founder of Restoring Citizens, a California non-profit organization that supports formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives. Drawing from his personal journey through incarceration, he leads programs in transitional housing, mentorship, case management, workforce readiness, and restorative justice.

PRESENTATION 20' Should Restorative Justice Providers Call All Victims? Balancing Privacy and Access in Victim Support (Marder, IE)

Recent research has found that victims’ right to receive information, including about the available restorative justice services, has been poorly implemented in practice. One proposed solution has been to introduce new data governance frameworks which allow for the automatic transfer of the victim’s contact details to victim support services, which can call victims proactively and directly unless they opt out. This presentation will consider the ethics and dynamics of this in the context of restorative justice. Drawing on the findings of VICINFO, a study exploring how victims receive information about restorative justice in six European countries, it asks who should be responsible for providing victims full and unbiased information about restorative justice, which victims should receive this and how, what barriers exist to the systematic provision of this information, and how might these barriers be overcome.

• Ian Marder is a criminologist (Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology) in Ireland. His work focuses on the study and development of restorative justice policies, services and practices and the application of restorative practices in criminal justice and universities.

PRESENTATION 20' Crime Control Fallacy: Exploring the Victims´ Need for Restorative Justice (Lozano Espina, ES)

This study examines the Crime Control Fallacy (CCF), a cognitive bias through which direct crime victims may overestimate their capability to influence or prevent criminal events. This false responsibility and self-blame involve a cognitive–emotional process rooted in the mistaken belief that they could have avoided the offense, serving as an attempt to regain a sense of control. The research first evaluates the empirical validity of the CCF construct, establishing it as a reliable, valid and existent framework. It then analyzes whether gender shapes differences in perceived control and explores how the crime context affects the intensity of this fallacy. Finally, the study examines how CCF relates to victims’ willingness to participate in restorative dialogue with offenders. Understanding CCF is crucial for restorative justice practice: unrealistic beliefs about control can disrupt emotional processing, shape expectations of accountability, and influence attitudes toward dialogue. Identifying these patterns enables practitioners to create safer, more supportive conditions for meaningful restorative encounters.

• Francisca Lozano Espina, PhD in Psychology (UNED), is a Professor in the Bachelor's Degree in Criminology and related double degrees, as well as in Business Administration and Management, at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 

PRESENTATION 20' Enhancing Restorative Justice with AI: Empowering People, Improving Processes (Twyman & Twyman-Ghoshal, UK)

Adopting AI technology in the RJ sector is inevitable but needs to be done in a considered and controlled way. This session explores the benefits of a human led approach to AI in RJ. There are many benefits that AI can bring but the restorative sector needs to adopt it in a careful and structured way. We can learn from some of the mistakes of early internet technology adoption and plot a way forward that prioritizes four areas: Case Management efficiency; Data-driven results; Communications and Accessibility; Ethical safeguards and human oversight.

• Chris Twyman is a marketing and product strategy leader with experience in global tech firms and start-ups across sectors including JusticeTech, FinTech, EdTech, HRTech, Platform Tech and Telecoms. He currently leads a not-for-profit start-up providing AI-enabled restorative technology for service providers and large organisations.
• Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal is a critical global criminologist, researching and teaching on the intersection of power, systemic injustice, social harm, and deviance in a globalised world. A former restorative justice practitioner in the United States, she is also co-founder of the restorative justice technology start-up Restorativ.

PRESENTATION 20' Nuggets of Wisdom: Children and Young People's Perspectives on Restorative Justice in Scotland (Morrison & Emmerson, UK)

This presentation considers key findings from engagement work taken place with children and young people in Scotland aged 8-25. This has included children in a primary school setting, a local youth group and young men in a Young Offenders Institution. Children and young people provided us with a unique and interesting viewpoint which evolved with their growing capacities and understanding of the world, including perspectives of restorative justice, shame, empathy and healing.

• Pamela Morrison is a Practice Development Advisor at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, supporting the implementation of Scotland’s Restorative Justice Action Plan. With a background in restorative justice, social work, and youth justice, she focuses on ensuring the rights and needs of children and young people are central to restorative practice.
• Lauren Emmerson has worked in social work with children and families in Scotland for over twenty years. Now with the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, she supports Scotland’s goal of making restorative justice accessible to all, with a strong focus on children’s rights and wellbeing.

PRESENTATION 20' Working with Children and Adolescents on Polarisation (Dell'Anno, IT; Wroldsen, NO)

Increased polarization among children and adolescents can have serious consequences. Exclusion and division can impact both mental health and the learning environment. Young people may feel pressured to pick a side and fear expressing opinions that differ from the majority. This can also lead to reduced tolerance, understanding, and ability to collaborate across differences. This presentation will address polarization and engage the participants in a dialogue and hands on session on how to work with children and teens on polarization.

• Guendalian Dell'Anno is a sociologist and an RJ practitioner and trainer in Italy.
• Nina Wroldsen is a teacher and former IB (International Baccalaureate) Principal and Board Member of Safe Learning, Norway. 

DIALOGUE 40' Giving Voice to Impact: How Can We Include and Learn from Children and Youth? (Holmedal & Paus, NO) 

Authorities and the public expect evidence of restorative justice’s societal impact: lower crime rates, reduced recidivism, stronger ties to school and work, especially concerning young persons. Yet these metrics, often drawn from registry data, miss the subtle, lived effects on children and young people. How do they experience restorative processes? What changes matter most to them? This workshop invites participants to explore these questions. Presenters will share key findings from recent research and insights from our own user surveys, then engage in group discussions on how to capture and communicate these effects more meaningfully. Together with participants, they will consider practical strategies to include children and young people in our approaches for insights, for amplifying young voices and making their experiences visible to decision-makers. The workshop aims at co-creating ideas that move beyond numbers, toward understanding what restorative justice truly means for children and youth.

• Trude Karin Holmedal, sociologist, senior advisor at The National Mediation Service, Central Administration (NMS) in Norway. Working on developing the area of user insight in NMS.
• Karen Kristin Paus, criminologist, senior advisor at The National Mediation Service, Central Administration (NMS) in Norway. Worked with restorative justice since 1995. Current tasks are related to quality and developments of practice.

PRESENTATION 20' Insights from an International Community of Practice for Restorative Evaluators and Practitioners (Vasilescu, IT)

The ecology of restorative practice is enhanced when researchers and practitioners apply restorative principles, support relational learning systems, and help to build an evaluative culture. In 2024, the Australian Association for Restorative Justice (AARJ) established a Community of Practice (CoP) for people interested or already involved in evaluating restorative practice. Colleagues from several Australian universities, and from government and non-government organisations, are involved in the CoP, along with representatives from New Zealand, the UK, Western Europe, and East Asia. This evaluators CoP has been sharing emerging evidence of what works, identifying best practice, supporting researchers and practitioners, fostering collaboration across different professions, organisations and contexts, and working to increase the impact and knowledge of restorative practice. The presenter, on behalf of the CoP, will describe the benefits of this collaboration, and briefly discuss principles for building a CoP that thrives.

• Cristina Vasilescu is a freelance consultant in qualitative research, public policy analysis and evaluation in social inclusion, equality, restorative justice, and participatory processes. This presentation is prepared together with Alikki Vernon, Vice-President of the Australian Association for Restorative Justice, not present in Poznań.

PRESENTATION 20' How can we Meaningfully Evaluate Healing? (Gjørding, DK)

This session invites participants into a shared exploration of questions emerging from an ongoing research project on a restorative group process. Healing is a concept that resonates with those who have been harmed, communities, and with policymakers, yet it often remains vague and difficult to grasp. This presentation focuses on how healing might be approached in ways that feel tangible yet nuanced. Using selected exercises from the project’s research design, it will show how to possibly understand participants’ own interpretations of healing, and how their wishes and priorities have shaped what is documented and examined. The session draws on the knowledge already present in the room, enabling us to reflect together on what it means to “evaluate” something as complex as healing, and what may necessarily remain unquantifiable.

• Merethe Riggelsen Gjørding is a researcher using qualitative and participatory methods, including interviews, fieldwork, and arts-based approaches, to explore restorative, retributive, and transformative justice to reduce harm in society. She is active in Genopret KBH network.

PRESENTATION 20' Rebuilding Trust: Qualitative Analysis of Restorative Encounters (Gaddi, ES)

This presentation explores how trust between victim and offender is actually rebuilt during restorative justice encounters, drawing on qualitative analysis of 12 cases and 20 interviews from the Catalan Restorative Justice Program. The session will share concrete examples of trust-building and trust-undermining moments and discuss how trust can serve as a qualitative indicator to assess relational repair and inform facilitator training and program evaluation. Participants interested in deepening the links between theory, empirical research, and everyday restorative practice will gain new concepts and tools to reflect on their own work.

• Daniela Gaddi is a Lecturer in Criminal Law and Criminology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), member of the UAB research group “Criminal Law and New Trends in Criminal Policy”. Her main research examines the suitability and potential implementation of restorative justice in corruption cases.

SKILLS LAB 80' Teaching Restorative Justice Theory: Insights from Care Ethics (Grigoletto, IT)

In this Skill Lab, experience from teaching Restorative Justice Theory to a diverse group of students and professionals (including university students, professors, middle and high school teachers, and youth sports practitioners) will be shared. Drawing from the debate of contemporary ethics, this session will first demonstrate how restorative justice theory aligns with some insights from care ethics. Particular attention will be given to Joan Tronto’s concepts of authentic care and her understanding of attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. This brief theoretical overview will then serve as the basis for designing a 50-minutes workshop on Tronto’s elements of care to address the question: "How do I take care of a conflict?" This should facilitate the transition from care ethics theory to restorative justice theory and support newcomers in understanding its core principles. It also encourages critical reflection on both the strengths and limitations of restorative justice.

• Simone Grigoletto is an Associate Professor in Moral Philosophy at the University of Padova (Italy). His research focuses on restorative justice and on contemporary normative ethics: the concept of supererogatory, moral excellence, moral pluralism, and philosophy of sport.

CREATIVE 80' Stopping the Process: When Restorative Practice Must Pause in Domestic Violence Cases (Truumets, Pakkonen, Varju, Olmann & Ender, EE)

This interactive session explores the moments when restorative practice must pause in domestic violence cases in order to protect safety and uphold ethical boundaries. Using applied theatre and psychodrama, participants engage with live scenes based on real cases from Estonia’s national restorative justice service run by the Social Insurance Board (SIB). Through physical “STOP” interventions and structured decision-making points, participants actively examine risk, power imbalance, and professional responsibility in high-risk restorative practice. A facilitated reflection supports shared learning on when to pause, redirect, or redesign a restorative process. The session offers a rare experiential opportunity to deepen understanding of safe, harm-centred restorative work within institutional systems, and is especially relevant for practitioners, facilitators, and professionals working in complex and sensitive contexts.

• Liisi Truumets is the Service Owner of the national restorative justice service at SIB, responsible for strategic development, quality assurance, integration into the state victim support system, expansion of safe practice in complex cases, and communicating practice-based insights to national policymakers.
• Tiina Pakkonen is the Regional Manager at the SIB’s Victim Support Unit, leading the development and implementation of restorative justice services at regional level, with a focus on system-building, interprofessional cooperation, and safe practice in complex cases.
• Ljubov Varju is the crime victims’ rights expert at the SIB's Regional Victim Support Unit.
• Maria Olmann is the is the Coordinator at the SIB's Regional Victim Support Unit.
• Reelika Ender is the Coordinator at the SIB's Regional Victim Support Unit, supporting the daily coordination of restorative justice services, volunteer engagement, training activities, and case-related cooperation between professionals and community-based practitioners.

DIALOGUE 80' Restorative Practices as Everyday Democratic Resistance (Pali & Laurie, NL)

Around the world, communities are quietly resisting democratic backsliding, not through protest alone, but through restorative practices that rebuild trust, solidarity, and connection. This participatory session invites you to explore how everyday actions such as dialogue circles, community care networks, or collaborative local projects can counter fear, polarisation, and authoritarian narratives. Drawing on case studies from the U.S., Italy, UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, we will collectively examine what makes these initiatives effective and what they teach us about sustaining democracy in difficult times. Through small-group conversations and shared reflection, participants will co-create insights into how restorative practices can support democratic resilience, attract disillusioned citizens, and nurture healthier social infrastructures. Join us to connect your own experiences with an emerging framework for “restorative democratic resistance.”

• Brunilda Pali is Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Chair of the European Forum for Restorative Justice. She teaches, researches, and publishes on gender, feminism, restorative and environmental justice, social justice, cultural criminology, and arts and justice.
• Jesse Laurie is a researcher at the University of Amsterdam and a Policy Intern at the European Forum for Restorative Justice. Her research is primarily concerned with how restorative practices can uphold democratic values, specifically in contexts of political violence and extremism.