Recordings and Session Details
Day 1 - Tuesday, February 4, 2025 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET
Restor(y)ing the Balance: Indigenous Understandings of Restorative Justice
Presenter: Janice Makokis (University of Windsor)
This presentation aims to bring forward an Indigenous understanding of restorative justice, shedding light on Indigenous practices, laws, philosophies, and worldviews that have shaped these approaches. By examining the origins of restorative justice within Indigenous communities, this presentation will highlight the deep connections between justice, healing, and balance. Participants will enhance their understanding of restorative justice in the work of responding to gender-based violence (GBV), rooted in Indigenous knowledge and ways of being. In addition, this presentation will facilitate a conversation to re-imagine how we might shift our understanding of restorative justice to a decolonizing praxis to dismantle colonial power.
Restorative Justice and Gender-Based Violence: Exploring Principles, Practices, and Challenges
Panelists: Kate Crozier (Community Justice Initiatives), Wyome Dion (Healing to Wellness Court), and Nermin Karim (North Shore Restorative Justice Society)
Moderator: Dr. Berivan Kutlay Sarikaya (OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants)
This panel aims to explore the application of restorative justice within the context of addressing gender-based violence (GBV), with an emphasis on the foundational principles and diverse influences that shape this approach. The discussion will dive into the practical application of restorative justice in GBV related work, focusing on how practitioners center GBV survivors in a trauma-informed way and take concrete steps to ensure safety throughout the process. Additionally, the panel aims to clarify common misunderstandings about restorative justice and explore ways to educate the broader community about its benefits and limitations. The panel will also consider the future of restorative justice, identifying key areas for growth and improvement within the GBV sector and related fields.
Day 2 - Wednesday, February 5, 2025 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET
Fireside Chat: What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!
Presenters: Nneka MacGregor (WomenatthecentrE) and Dr. El Jones (Mount Saint Vincent University)
Transformative Justice is a framework developed in the United States by Black women and people of colour. It takes into account the myriad ways in which various systems, especially the criminal legal system, fails to provide any semblance of justice for those who have been harmed, or accountability for those who have caused harm. Transformative Justice seeks to respond to violence in ways that do not reproduce harm, rather focusing on interventions that bring about individual and community accountability, healing, safety, resilience and prevention.
The gender-based violence sector’s continued reliance on the criminal legal system fails to address the inherent continuum of trauma that many who navigate it face. Some view it as a ‘soft on crime’ alternative, without a proper understanding of the vision and the goal of the Transformative Justice process, which is to create communities of care where violence does not occur in the first place, but when it does, to support those who have been harmed find safety and healing, and for those who have caused harm, to also find connection and accountability, so that they do not harm others in future.
Transformative Justice starts with an understanding of the complex and nuanced experiences of many communities who are targets of state-sanctioned racial and gendered violence, especially Black women, girls, gender-diverse, and trans individuals, people living with a disability, those engaging in sex work, immigrant and racialized newcomers, and migrant workers. It continues by creating space for individuals to define what justice looks like for them and supports communities to build capacity to better support each other, as they cannot rely on the police and the courts to keep them safe.
After participating in this Fireside Chat, participants will better be able to define what Transformative Justice is and its role in creating community and individual care and accountability; disrupt/debunk the myths about the carceral system as the only/best solution to address violence and provide justice; identify the skills needed to engage in Transformative Justice processes; and provide tangible examples of how to hold space for each other in our personal, professional, and community interactions.
Transformative Justice in Action: Reimagining Gender-Based Violence Support and Accountability
Panelists: Jenna Forbes (Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Services Society), Dalya Israel (Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre), and Misanka Mupesse (Social Worker and Sex Educator)
Moderator: Sami Pritchard (YWCA Toronto)
This panel aims to explore the principles and application of transformative justice within the context of gender-based violence (GBV), focusing on how it can be applied to support survivors, those who have caused harm, and communities. Panelists will discuss how transformative justice fosters healing, accountability, and community, emphasizing its potential to challenge traditional justice systems. Through the discussion of key misunderstandings, practical examples, and real-world applications, the panel aims to highlight effective approaches and strategies for implementing transformative justice in GBV responses. Additionally, panelists will share lessons from their practice and identify key opportunities for growth, offering ideas to further advance transformative justice in the GBV sector and related fields.
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