Those pushing for punitive measures in response to violence say it’s in the name of survivors, yet too often, they are not centered in the process to heal after harm. Currently, our responses to violence prioritize speed, punishment, or institutional convenience over the lived realities of survivors. The current system doesn’t allow space for the complex and the long work of healing. A truly just response must begin by centering survivors’ voices, safety, and sense of agency. Restorative justice offers a framework that does just that, shifting the focus from punishment to accountability, healing, and outcomes that reflect what survivors actually want and need.

Survivors deserve a process that keeps their needs in the CENTER.

After all, they are the ones most severely impacted by the crime and most likely to be frightened and in pain right after the incident and for months or even years to come. In fact, many survivors of violence suffer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, and a full 28 to 45 percent of survivors of violence manifest those symptoms to a degree that constitutes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To make matters worse, these estimates reflect only a fraction of crime survivors, as 95 percent of all survivors of robbery and 91 percent of survivors of assault received no assistance after the crime. Restorative justice recognizes the importance of attending centrally and deeply to the needs of the survivors, some of whom are still in a state of shock and crisis, and to adapting to their changing needs as time goes on. 

Survivors want a voice in HOW to address harm done to them.

Restorative justice involves creative thinking and many solution-focused discussions with trained staff, family, other supportive people and the responsible party about how to begin to make things as right as possible for the survivor. We know that for survivors, process matters: focusing on the process of arriving at an outcome in addition to the outcome itself is more aligned with how people heal physically and emotionally, and how they recover from traumatic experiences. Trauma theory teaches us that nearly all people can benefit from certain things when they are harmed: to ask why, to express the harm they endured, to regain control and a sense of agency relative to the incident, to begin to assemble a coherent narrative regarding what took place, to have a say in the outcome, and/or to have that harm repaired in a way that is responsive and meaningful to them.  When someone has suffered serious trauma and/or sustained a serious injury, those needs are even more urgent and more acute, and it therefore can be even more impactful when they are responsibly and compassionately met.   As one Common Justice harmed party put it:

“I knew immediately when I was robbed at gunpoint that I didn’t want those boys to go to prison, but I wanted something.  I needed something.  I wanted them to face me man-to-man, human-to-human. I wanted to know they would do something with their lives so they’d never do this to anyone again.  And I wanted to have some say in what that might be.” 

Healing from loss and trauma is a GRADUAL and EVOLVING process.

Survivors of trauma typically experience feelings of shock, anger, sadness, denial, and desperation before reaching acceptance. Restorative justice allows the time for survivors to go through the necessary stages in their healing process. It is responsive to the needs of survivors to have their feelings heard and validated, to develop the appropriate natural coping mechanisms, to ask for additional support and finally to begin to make steps to feel whole again. The traditional court process is limited by its nature to have to aim for speed and is poorly equipped to support or advance the natural stages of healing. 

Survivors deserve options that resonate with their sense of SAFETY and JUSTICE.

Almost all survivors care both about their own safety and about the safety of others—they do not want to be hurt again, and they do not want anyone else to go through what they experienced.  While some survivors do believe in incarceration, many others do not feel it is the best way to keep themselves and others safe from harm. Whether it is concerns about survivor intimidation, complex neighborhood dynamics, personal beliefs about how people change, or knowledge of the high recidivism rates for those returning home from prisons, many survivors do not believe incarceration is the best means of improving their sense of safety or justice. Alternatives to incarceration allow survivors the opportunity to see the people who harmed them held accountable for their actions in a way that is likely to keep them and others safe. Alternatives to incarceration overall are shown to reduce recidivism significantly as compared with jail and prison.  And restorative justice, when accompanied by appropriate preparation and support, has been shown to increase survivors’ sense of safety as compared to incarceration.  It is for these reasons that a full 90 percent of survivors who have been offered Common Justice have elected it over incarceration. 

Perhaps most importantly, survivors want OPTIONS.  

Survivors differ in their experience, culture, healing process, values, and desires, but all survivors want options, and all survivors deserve options that resonate with their sense of justice, safety, and respect.  In expanding the range of options available to survivors, we can increase the portion of survivors who experience justice and safety as a result of their decision to engage law enforcement. 

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: 

  • Restorative justice programs have also been shown to significantly reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms in survivors. A study found that robbery, assault, and burglary survivors who took part in restorative processes reported 37 percent fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress than those who participated in standard court proceedings.
  • In addition, restorative justice has been shown to leave both those harmed and those responsible for a harmful act more satisfied with outcomes: survivors of crime who have taken part in restorative processes in the U.S. have reported 80 to 90 percent rates of satisfaction, compared with satisfaction rates around 30 percent for the traditional court system.
  • A meta-analysis of multiple restorative justice programs found a 34 percent reduction in recidivism for participating defendants; some studies report even better results for individual projects.

Survivors deserve more than a one-size-fits-all response to harm. They deserve to be heard, to feel safe, to participate in decisions that shape their lives, and to choose pathways that align with their values and needs. The evidence is clear: when survivors are offered restorative options alongside appropriate support, they experience greater healing and increased sense of safety. Expanding access to restorative justice honors survivors by giving them real and personal choices in the aftermath of harm.