A Restorative Response to Harm in Schools

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Restorative Justice

While it is common to hear of Anti-Bullying programs nowadays, it is uncommon for these programs to actually outline what you would do with a person who has bullied. The programs often have rich and meaningful methods and processes that address the root causes of bullying, yet most are strangely silent on how to deal with an actual event in which bullying took place. I am sure that there are various reasons for this, though I lament the lack of useful guidance given to deal with such events. Of late, more programs have begun to provide guidelines and issues involved in disciplining a person who has bullied. Unfortunately, they often lack the sophistication or detail sufficient to provide meaningful responses. It seems that we ought to look in areas that have experience in dealing with harm in a transformative manner to seek detailed and sophisticated guidance.

One such source of guidance for administrations and schools is the learning around Restorative Justice. When applied to school systems, this movement often renames itself so as to distance it from the Criminal Justice connections that Restorative Justice has developed out of. One such rename could be Restorative Response. Often, within Restorative Justice circles, there is a desire to focus less on the crime and more on the harm caused, so the focus of this discussion will be turned towards harm as a result of bullying, which is a specific method of causing harm.

When thinking of a Restorative Response to a harm we must take into account three groups or individuals; the community in which the harm has occurred, the person(s) who has caused the harm, and the person who has received the harm. We must also show respect for all parties, and seek the needs and safety of all involved. A Restorative Response to harm in schools would provide an important correction/teaching tool to schools that would strengthen its community, meet the needs of the person(s) harmed, and promote meaningful accountability and amends by the person who caused the harm. Another important focus for a Restorative Response would be creating opportunities for the transformation of the offender such that there is a deepening of their ability to empathise with those they have harmed. Restorative Response may also work towards a youth originated consequence that arises out of awareness of the harm's impact. There is often a deep learning opportunity for all involved in the transformation events.

I do not wish to emphasise one type of program, though I will address one of them in more detail, for a Restorative Response could use many different processes. Some that are currently in operation include facilitated conferencing, remedial training for last chance kids, action teams that respond to specific minor flare ups in a school district, scripted conferencing, reintegration programs for suspended students, healing circles, family group decision making, and so on. In determining the programs most suitable for your community and each situation, it is very important to be aware of the values of your community and also the principles which guide the development of any restorative response to harm (for a more detailed look at Restorative Justice, check out www.crnetwork.ca and click the appropriate link).

Often, for school communities these values include education, inclusion, safety, responsibility, community involvement, parental involvement and so on. In a school community we would like our children to learn from their mistakes - punitive action is counter productive to this learning. Fear of shame and punishment are a major motivator of defensiveness and lies from the student and remains a block to resolution. When we assist our students to accept responsibility for their actions, to fully realise the impacts of those actions, to understand the needed actions to make things right, and help them take that journey, we have engaged in a heart learning that is deep, meaningful and long lasting. Often, this will be a learning which will shape them for the rest of their lives. The Restorative Response process is also very helpful in breaking down stereotypes, both in self image and other image. Restorative Response thus provides many learning opportunities, both in relational and intellectual areas, and results in transformation of self and of communities. We need to remember and note that kids can come up with amazing solutions that they feel good about if there is a meaningful and restorative process.

Let us not forget that we must not only work at preventing harmful actions in our schools, we must engage in healing the wounds of that harm, both to victim and to the school community. We can most effectively do that when we, along with the communities of interest, help the offender take meaningful responsibility for that harm.

As mentioned there are numerous processes and programs available to model a Restorative Response after. One of them is the mediation model. One thing that needs to be clarified about the use of mediation in instances of harm (bullying) is to make sure we know the different kinds of mediation available to this task. It is clear that peer mediation, or any sort of conflict resolution type of problem solving mediation would be inappropriate to deal with a situation of harm. The assumption of these methods is that there is shared responsibility for the problem, and shared responsibility in solving the problem. This is clearly not the case in an instance of bullying. Another kind of mediation, Victim Offender Mediation (VOM), would be far more applicable to instances of harm in the school.

A primary difference of VOM is that there is clear acknowledgement of the fact that one party to the conflict is largely responsible for the conflict/harm and thus is obligated to make things right. In the case of a person who has committed an act of bullying they would need to acknowledge their responsibility for that act, that the harm was wrong to cause, and that they wish to make it right with the person (s) they harmed. This would all occur before any thought of a mediation would be entertained. Should the person who caused the harm do these three things, then an amazing learning opportunity is available. Learning in the form of a realisation on the part of the offender of the nature of the harm they caused, which would engender an increased ability for empathy. The victim will be able to have crucial questions answered. Both offender and victim can experience an expanded self awareness and other awareness, thus equipping them for a more healthy experience in the school community.

In what ways does this process, or any other encounter type processes (where offender and victim meet in some way), protect the victim and create increased safety? It changes the power balance between the offender and victim by creating vulnerability on the side of the offender. Such a process also recognises a need for the offender to meet the obligations resulting from the harm caused to the victim in a monitored and meaningful way. As well it acknowledges the role of the community and victim in identifying the various needs arising due to the harm and determines who would best be able to meet those needs. The first point is a powerful one as it is the opposite of the power imbalance extant when the incident occurred. The second provides ongoing monitoring which requires and verifies a change in the behaviour of the offender, and also addresses the root causes of the individual persons harmful behaviour. The third acknowledges that there are more needs to meet than the offender can or should deal with and that the community has obligations as well. All of these have been shown to significantly reduce a repetition of the sanctioned behaviour and deal with the fears of the victim. This obviously helps increase both the real and perceived safety of the victim.

VOM, and other encounter processes like conferencing, not only meet the safety needs of a victim, it also provides them an opportunity to answer many of the questions that plague the minds of victims. Such questions as "Why me?", "Why did you do it?", "What kind of person is this?", "Are they genuinely sorry?", and so on. We cannot underestimate the importance of these questions for the victim. Also, a VOM would result in the drafting of an agreement which will outline the amends the victim and community need from the offender to make things as right. These can include apology, counselling, service opportunities, behaviours to change, and so on. It can be very instructive to note how creative and effective consequences can be when we allow this sort of process. The carrying out of these agreed upon amends restores both the victim and offender back to the school community in a manner which maximises transformative opportunities and results in a stronger and healthier community. The community has the opportunity to see justice being done, and to see the offender take meaningful accountability. This makes it possible for them to welcome the victim and offender back into their community.

It is clear then, that the profound shift encouraged with in our schools by the many anti-bullying programs out there also require a profound shift within how our schools engage in discipline. Seeking the input and restoration of all involved, maximising learning opportunities and showing meaningful response are all vital to the creation of a safe learning community.

I will finish with this brief story that illustrates the value of a Restorative Response.

Two girls that used to be friends had an increasingly deteriorating relationship which ultimately resulted in a fight in the hallways. It became clear that one of the girls "Jill" was more aggressive and hostile that the other girl, "Brooke", who simply wanted to part ways and be left alone. Jill was quite defensive during the mediation, and showed a lot of hostility toward things she thought Brooke had said around the school.

Brooke was given the opportunity to clarify those rumours, which seemed to satisfy Jill somewhat and soften her slightly. Brooke then said, "I really need the harassment to stop." Jill said, "What harassment, what are you talking about?" Brooke said, "Like when you call me a "ho" in the hallways and push me, I don't like that." Comprehension dawned on Jill's face...she had not realized that was bothersome behaviour...it may seem really obvious, but for some reason, Jill needed to hear that from Brooke in order to cluein that it was harmful.

The girls did not become best friends or anything, but there were no further problems. The direct encounter was the learning that was needed to invoke behaviour change.

This mediation happened as part of the Restorative Action initiative happening within the Langley School District in partnership with CJI.

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