Restorative Justice – healing harm caused by hate crime
This is a blog by Why me?’s Strategic Programmes Manager, Kate Aldous. Kate is managing Why me?’s project on the use of Restorative Justice for cases of LGBTQ+ hate crime.
Hate crime is under-reported. About 53% of instances are reported to police according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. When it is reported, satisfaction with the response is low.
Restorative Justice is a different and powerful response. It facilitates safe and supported communication between the person who was harmed and the person who caused the harm. In instances of hate crime, this can be very powerful. It brings understanding, healing and closure to those affected, and can transform the attitudes and behaviour of the harmer. Given that hate crime has a high emotional impact on victims, this is especially important.
Those harmed by crime tell us that the Criminal Justice System can be re-traumatising, because they feel helpless and unheard.
In contrast, Restorative Justice puts the harmed person at the centre of the process, restoring their agency, and allowing them to tell their story, including to the person responsible for the harm. This is powerful for both parties – hearing the impact of their actions can be transformational for the harmer, and witnessing the impact can give the harmed person a sense that they have brought about positive change from a negative incident.
At a time when we are seeing a rise in hate crime, Restorative Justice is more important than ever. But take up is low especially amongst those who do not expect fair treatment from the police, such as minoritised communities, especially young Black men, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, the LGBTQ+ community, and women – as evidenced in the Lammy and Casey Reviews. Those affected by hate crime are less likely to be offered it, because police, victim support agencies and organisations working to address hate crime aren’t familiar with it, or wrongly consider it to be unsuitable for hate crime.
Restorative Justice charity Why me? campaigns to increase awareness of the powerful impact of Restorative Justice for hate crime. We have demonstrated its impact on hate crime against those with learning disabilities and autism; and with the LGBTQ+ community. In our work with speakers of English as an Additional Language, our community partners highlighted its use to address hate crime – see Zaynab Asghar’s testimonial. We have also demonstrated its impact in cases of domestic violence.
On a personal level, one of my first experiences of Restorative Justice, many years ago, was when I heard a story on the radio about an Asian woman who was racially abused in the street, and was offered Restorative Justice. “Why would you want to do that?”, I thought to myself, “why would you want to sit down with someone who expressed such racism?”. Fortunately, she had a different view. They met, and subsequently became friends. I was astounded. Now, with my knowledge of Restorative Justice, I think “what an extraordinary process – we need more of that to address the prejudice and divisions in society”.
At a time when hate crime is on the increase, and society often feels more polarised than ever, Restorative Justice provides a powerful tool to transform attitudes and behaviour.
See our leaflet about Restorative Justice and hate crime
Find out more about Restorative Justice
Picture credit: 17-24-30 National Hate Crime Awareness Week