by rendx | 2025-09-25 21:03:05+00:00
> Restorative justice takes place all of the time.

I think you're operating from a different definition of RJ than the author.

> As part of their restorative justice, the victim is forced to reconcile with their attacker. The attacker walks freely without punishment, whilst the victim is told to stop living in the past and to stop identifying with the pain.

And this clearly illustrates it. When you look at the article, she talks about how it is a necessity of the kind of restorative justice she is talking about not to require reconciliation, nor can it operate with any level of force or demand participation. It's even there in the shorter excerpt.

Interview with her and her sister on her personal background stories: https://portside.org/2020-04-06/radical-work-healing-fania-a...

EFRJ Briefing Paper On The Use Of Restorative Justice In Cases Of Violence Against Women: https://www.euforumrj.org/efrj-briefing-paper-use-restorativ...

"The EFRJ drafted a briefing paper aiming to address key aspects of restorative justice and its application in cases of violence against women, such as sexual and domestic violence. It seeks to clarify concerns, highlight evidence-based practices, and emphasise the need for safeguards and high-quality standards to ensure restorative justice processes are safe, voluntary, and empowering for victims."

Keenan, M., Bonini, V., Martin, D., Haarländer, A., & Dev-Halonen, A. (2025). Domestic Violence and Restorative Justice: Responding to Feminist Concerns. The International Journal of Restorative Justice. https://doi.org/10.5553/TIJRJ-000228

"This article examines feminist concerns for restorative justice in cases of domestic violence in what is a divided feminist landscape. Primary concerns focus on the potential risks for victim participation, given the power imbalances involved; whether informed consent can ever be reliably given, given the potential for victim manipulation by perpetrators; and whether restorative justice could lead to the re-privatisation of domestic violence, something feminists have long fought to change. […] Having examined the feminist critique of restorative justice in domestic violence we conclude that the risks and concerns identified can be addressed and mitigated by restorative justice practices and processes."

Interview with the ex-Vice Minister of Justice in Colombia:

"In the context of large-scale and systemic conflict, restorative justice must focus on the experience of victims, not only on their pain, but also on their capacity to process and address that suffering. It is important that these initiatives do not divide society into rigid categories of those who have caused the violence and those who have suffered from it, as there are many sectors that do not fit neatly into these categories. People may have participated in the conflict through their discourses, practices or ideas, or they may have been affected in different ways by the actions of others. There is therefore a need to move beyond this simplistic view and to develop social dialogue systems that allow for a holistic approach to addressing harm."

https://www.euforumrj.org/interview-camilo-eduardo-umana-her...