Crime causes injuries. It also can result in both the victim
and offender experiencing stigmatization. Therefore, restorative
justice places a high value on the reintegration of the victim and of
the offender. The goal is to have them become whole, contributing
members of their communities.
Victims often feel stigmatized by family, friends and the community. Sometimes this is because of the loneliness experienced during and after a traumatic crisis. But sometimes it is because victims are uncomfortable reminders to those around them that crime can happen to anyone. Out of fear, people who might naturally support victims instead attempt to explain away what happened by blaming the victim or wishing he/she would "just get over it." This works to separate the victim from loved ones and community members and can lead to stigmatization.
Offenders also face stigmatization. Since crime causes fear in the
community, offenders become vilified in the eyes of society.
Incarceration separates them from their families and communities. Upon
release, offenders frequently lack stable support structures, and even
start-up money for food and clothes, housing, transportation, and other
parts of a healthy productive life. At the same time, offenders face
discrimination in their attempts to become productive citizens.
Reintegration occurs when the victim or offender can become active
and productive parts of their communities. To accomplish this, victims
and offenders must find communities with the following characteristics:
(1) mutual respect for those in the community, (2) mutual commitment to
others in the community, and (3) intolerance for--but understanding
of--deviant behaviour by members of the community.
The following are examples of such communities.
Support Groups: In victim support groups and
ex-offender support groups, participants understand the difficulties
that others face because they have faced them too. When members
find they are not understood by others near them, even their own
families, they are able to form strong ties within the group because of
their common experiences. These shared experiences help build respect,
commitment, and understanding.
Circles of Support: Although support groups help with building self-esteem and more positive responses to life, they are limited in the relationships that are formed. The Mennonite Central Committee in Ontario Canada has organized Circles of Support for ex-offenders needing more accountability than a support group would offer. This programme uses volunteers working with the police, community groups, and treatment professionals to address the needs of serious sex offenders as they are released from prison. The programme reduces recidivism, aids the offender's transition into the community, and addresses the fears of the community.
Faith Communities: Faith communities are present in virtually
all communities. Many are encouraged by their beliefs and traditions to
help meet needs in their communities. Many have the resources and
presence to provide many services. For example, Christianity is filled
with traditions and examples of caring for those in needs. The story of
the Good Samaritan encourages the church to aid victims of crime.
Jesus' act of forgiveness and acceptance of the thief on the cross
provides an example of acceptance of repentant offenders into the
When support groups, community groups, faith communities or other
communities offer friendship, material aid, and spiritual or moral
direction, they offer the victim and offender the opportunity to leave
the shadows and reenter the larger community as contributing members.
The community's responsibility is to make those reintegrating
communities available. Responsibility for joining those
communities lies with the victim and the offender.
Stories About Reintegration
Restorative Justice is Based on Community Involvement
Studies of Reintegration
The Challenge of Delivering Services Which Provide for Restoration to Rurally Isolated Communities- the Victorian Example
Prison Without Walls- Kerala's Open Prison Draws on Strengths of Community Life
Circles of Support and Accountability: The Need to Make Room for More Victim/Survivor Input
One2One: A Mentoring Project for Young Offenders
Victim Assistance Programs: Whom They Serve, What They Offer
This article was abstracted from Van Ness, Daniel and Karen Heetderks Strong. 2003. "Chapter 6:Reintegration." In, Restoring Justice. 2nd. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing. Used by permission from Anderson Publishing Company. All rights reserved. No part of this book may reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher.