Would you be willing to meet with the person who made you a victim of crime and talk it over? Is there a way to do this that would ‘heal’ both you and the perpetrator? Do you think the perpetrator can be healed, or deserves to be?
These are all types of questions that relate back to the way that we look at ‘justice’ and what we believe justice to be.
Retributive justice emphasises punishment
According to theories of retributive justice, punishment is a morally acceptable response to crime, as long as it is proportionate to the crime. The idea behind this is that knowing that the criminal is locked away, you experience positive psychological benefits and can begin to heal. In addition, society is better off because people who want to disrupt the social order are removed. Read more about this by clicking here. In simple terms, sending someone to jail balances the scales and life can go back to its orderly state. The aim is to end the cycle of violence by removing violent elements from society.
An example of community healing from the Gacaca courts in Rwanda
According to theories of restorative justice simply sending someone to jail will not make anything better. To restore things you have go through a process that emphasises the healing of the harm committed, and works with all stakeholders including the perpetrator. So for society to be mended you have to mend the victims of crime and the perpetrators of the crime. Why? Because crime is not only between two people, it is something that affects everyone in the community and the perpetrator/criminal comes out of that community. So in this way work needs to be done to make sure that when the perpetrator returns to the community they are also healed. This was pursued in Rwanda, with the gacaca trials. Read more about it here. The aim is to end the cycle of violence by healing.
These are two very different ways of working with perpetrators and the victims of crime. The aim of both is to serve justice. So what do you think? Which of these two ideas about justice do you think is best? Do you think we could practice restorative justice in South Africa? Do you think that it would empower the victims of crime?
Let us know by adding your comments below.
This is a great blog to have set up! For us at the Restorative Justice Centre (RJC) in Pretoria, this is a no-brainer. We’ve been operating for 10 years this year and our experience within our organization as well as in dealing with victims in over 1000 victim offender conferences leaves us with no doubt whatsoever that retributive justice has very little to offer victims, while restorative justice, while not a magic wand, is far more effective and satisfying. There is of course so much that can be said about this. I think its important to note some of the court precedents that have been set over the past few years in SA, as well as recent developments in legislation and wider policy. I’m happy to engage with anyone who is interested in this.