Listen now to ‘Restorative Talks’
This is a blog by our Communications and Events Coordinator, Keeva Baxter.
It’s Restorative Justice Week! This week, Why me? are delighted to be launching our ‘Restorative Talks’ podcast series, which highlights the stories of people affected by crime, widens access to Restorative Justice and shares accurate information about the restorative process.
The series is made up of three episodes, exploring what Restorative Justice is, how it works and what the future looks like in this sector. We were honoured to be joined by our ambassador Janika who shared her story of being a survivor of serious domestic violence and using Restorative Justice to take back her power. All episodes of Restorative Talks are now available to stream on Spotify.
Janika’s story
Janika suffered a violent knife attack at the hands of her ex-partner while she was pregnant. Stabbed eight times in broad daylight whilst sitting in her car – with her baby soundly asleep in the back seat – the knife pierced her heart. Miraculously she and her unborn baby survived.
Janika’s partner was convicted for attempted murder. As she began to heal from her injuries, she realised that the wounds weren’t just physical. She had unanswered questions and the psychological impact of the crime was “debilitating”. Janika fought to take part in Restorative Justice and meet her ex-partner face-to-face.
“I wanted him to be accountable to me – not to a judge, not to the police, not to prison officers but to me. I felt my voice wasn’t being heard… I wanted to tell him the impact his actions had on me, my children, my family and my friends. I wanted to face my fear…I wanted to see he understood the impact of his actions and what he had lost.”
Janika shares her story in Episode 2 of Restorative Talks.
For people who understand, or work in, Restorative Justice, Episodes 2 and 3 will be most pertinent, providing a strong example of how the restorative work they do changes lives, acknowledging the barriers faced by many restorative services and opening up a debate about what the future of RJ looks like.
For students, policy-makers or criminal justice professionals who have heard about Restorative Justice but want a comprehensive understanding of the basics, Episodes 1 and 2 will provide a grounding in what the process looks like and why people might want to participate.
Episode 1 – What is Restorative Justice?
In the first episode of the podcast, I interviewed our Director, Lucy Jaffé, who shares insights from her 12 years at Why me?. She covers the basics of what Restorative Justice is and how it can transform the lives of people affected by crime. This episode is a great introduction to the principles of restorative work and we encourage you to use it as a resource for people who ask you what Restorative Justice is. By sharing the basics more widely, we help to tackle misconceptions and answer the key questions of people who are first hearing about it.
Episode 2 – How Restorative Justice changed my life
The second episode is a gripping interview with our Ambassador, Janika, where she shares her story in detail – exploring how Restorative Justice changed her life and helped her progress along her healing journey after such a serious crime. This episode is particularly pertinent to anyone working with people affected by domestic abuse or within the violence against women and girls sector. Janika explains the risks of taking the choice away from people affected by these crimes and how, despite the best intentions of support organisations, making decisions on behalf of survivors can create barriers to their healing.
Hearing directly from people affected by crime is a uniquely powerful way to get insights to the restorative process, understand why people want to take part, and see how transformative it can be for their healing. This episode is useful to share with anyone who has hesitations about Restorative Justice or anyone affected by crime who might be considering taking part.
Episode 3 – What does the future look like for people affected by crime
Finally, in the third episode, Janika and Lucy come together to discuss what the future of Restorative Justice looks like. They discuss how existing barriers can be dismantled and what action needs to be taken to make it more available to those who need it. As Janika and Lucy share their vision for the future, they identify key stakeholders that can make this change and how we can all make a difference to the lives of people affected by crime.
We encourage you to listen to the podcast and share it with your networks to help others to understand the true value of restorative work. We would also love to hear your thoughts so please send us your feedback, questions, comments or ideas for future episodes to info@why-me.org.
We would like to extend a big thank you to our Editor, Rory Drinnan, and our funders, The 29th May 1961 Charity, for their support in creating the Restorative Talks podcast series.