Offenders develop empathy. Offenders learn affective communication skills. Offenders learn conflict resolution skills. Victims and community members have an opportunity to tell the offender how they feel. Victims have a say in how the harm should be repaired.
Victims have an opportunity to ask questions.
Victims and community members can regain a sense of safety, bringing healing and closure to the incident. The Process A Real Justice conference is a structured meeting between victims, offenders, their family and friends, and other community members directly affected by the offense, to discuss the offense and decide how best to repair the harm. A trained facilitator guides the group through the process, and the group decides the outcomes. Conferencing is neither counseling nor mediation. It is a straightforward, practical, problem-solving method.