Restorative justice and coercion

by Lynette Parker:

Recently, I had a brief Twitter conversation with HMP_Chaplain about restorative justice and coercion. HMP_Chaplain commented on a statement by a Sycamore Tree Project facilitator in England and Wales that “if they make RJ compulsory she will pull out." I responded in a couple of Tweets:

“Can understand...voluntariness is essential in RJ. Coercion can stand in the way of dialogue but doesn’t have to.”

“Also RJ is more than a process its a way of thinking that can inform all interactions with offenders.”

Jan 06, 2012 Limitations, Theory, Support, Practice, Conceptual, Correspondent:Lynette Parker

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A relational vision of justice

from Jennifer Llewellyn's article for Restorative Justice Week 2011:

As a relational theory of justice, RJ is rooted in a relational understanding of human beings and the world. It starts from the fundamental assumption that human beings are inherently relational. This is more than merely a description about the way in which we live or a claim about the benefits that relationships bring. Human beings do indeed live in relationships with one another, but, a relational theory claims that we could not do otherwise. We are, on this account, formed in and through relationship with others. Relationship is central to who we are and who we become. 

This is not to say that we are just the sum of our relationships or wholly determined by them. We still make choices for ourselves and are responsible for those choices. But a relational approach reveals the extent to which our choices are made possible by and realized with the help of others. Our choices also affect others. 

Jan 04, 2012 Conceptual, Definition, Theory

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