Board Member Profile: Roselle Quinones
I have been involved in the field of victim services since 1995 – first as a volunteer then in 2001 as a paid police victim services caseworker and in 2012 as the program coordinator of a police victim services unit. During this time, when the concept of Restorative Justice was introduced to me, it was deemed to be more beneficial for the offender and it set aside the needs of the victim. It wasn’t until I attended a conference in 2018 hosted in Halifax that I had an ‘ah-ha’ moment: Restorative Justice focuses on restoring the harm. Harm cannot be restored unless those who have been harmed have been considered and engaged.
Five Myths surrounding Restorative Justice
Although written in 2002, these myths surrounding restorative justice are still very much a reality. Hope Howard Zehr’s words can guide you in your work in addressing some of these common misconceptions of RJ.
Call for Contributors!
Sharing a very exciting Call for Contributors from Living Justice Press! Announcing their new book project ‘Colorizing Circle Practices’, and inviting Indigenous and practitioners of color who are interested in writing about their experiences [...]
Jillian Murphy’s Restorative Justice Story
One quiet evening at home over 20 years ago my mother, Sandra sat awestruck watching as a tragic story unfolded on the evening news. Katy Hutchison, a young widow from Squamish BC, had met with and forgiven the young man who took her husband's life. Katy was sharing her story with the world watching from the edge of their seats. She committed herself to ensuring that the rest of her life was invested – not in the manner of her husband’s death and the pain of his murder, but in his life and the healing and wellbeing of everyone impacted by his loss. That newscast was my mother's first encounter with what our family later came to know as Restorative Justice. Little did we know that over a decade later we would be living out a story very similar to Katy’s.
Decolonization and Restorative Justice
A paper by Dr. Muhammad Asadullah, an Assistant Professor at the University of Regina’s Department of Justice was published in Decolonization of Criminology and Justice, 3(1). 27-62 titled “Decolonization and Restorative Justice : A [...]
RJABC Update
Many of you were able to attend another successful and inspiring week of conversation at the Canadian National Restorative Justice Symposium hosted during International Restorative Justice Week November 21-28th 2021. This virtual event featured keynote speakers Marlee Liss and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas as well as engaging dialogues on Innovative Expressions of RJ, Environmental Harm, Colonial Harm and Racial Harm. If you missed the event you can go to the NRJS site National Symposium 2021 to learn more and to find related updates and resources.