Government show support for Restorative Justice in Parliament
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.
On Monday evening this week, Paul Kohler, Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon and Ambassador for Why me? made a speech in the House of Commons about the two amendments we put forward to the Victims and Courts Bill.
As a reminder, the amendments were tabled as part of the Right to be heard campaign, run by Why me? and The Common Ground Justice Project. We worked in collaboration with Calm Mediation to brief Paul Kohler on the need for the amendments. We were delighted to see the amendments get the support of 19 other MPs, including representatives from the Labour and Conservative parties, even in the short time period between tabling the amendment late last week. Thank you to everyone who wrote to their MPs.
In his speech, Paul spoke about the power of Restorative Justice and the need for strengthened legislative power to enforce victims’ rights. We strongly urge you to watch the short clip of Paul speaking in the House of Commons.
“The need for these clauses could not be clearer”, Paul begins, arguing that a justice system at “breaking point” means that “the people who suffer most are the victims, whose voices are frequently ignored.” He goes on to say that Restorative Justice “should be at the heart of giving victims of crime access to justice.”
When challenged on the fact that some victims may want the perpetrator of the crime to spend a very long time in prison, Paul aptly responded that whilst Restorative Justice is not for everyone “it is right for many victims, including myself”. Paul was subjected to a ‘murderous attack’ in his own home when four attackers forced their way in. He later, alongside his wife and daughter, met one of the attackers face to face through Restorative Justice. He shared in the House of Commons how his daughter, having moved out of the family home after the attack, was able to move back in following the Restorative Justice meeting, having “demythologised” the attacker.
In response to Paul’s speech, Alex Davies Jones, Minister for Victims and Violence against women and girls, shared her support for Restorative Justice. She began by encouraging all members to “go and see Punch the play, which is outstanding and probably the best example of Restorative Justice anyone can see.”
In her response, which you can watch in full here, she said that both the Prisons Minister and the Secretary of State are “passionate believers” in Restorative Justice and that “it can provide better victim outcome and lower reoffending rates in the future.”
She ended by saying that “we are looking closely at this as a department and will continue to work closely with him (Paul Kohler MP) to see how best we can bring out Restorative Justice programmes across the Ministry of Justice.
It is a great achievement to get Restorative Justice recognised and supported on such an important platform, and is a huge step forward for our campaign to ensure that all victims of crime have a right to a Restorative Justice referral. Whilst we are disappointed that the amendments did not go to a vote, and therefore will not be added to the Victims and Courts Bill at this stage, this is just the beginning of our ‘Right to be heard’ campaign. We intend to reintroduce the amendments in the House of Lords, now that we have cross-party support for the amendments and key players in the Government, such as Lord Timpson and David Lammy have demonstrated their belief in the process.
We will keep you updated on our progress and how you can support this campaign further. If you haven’t already, make sure you sign and share the petition to show that there is demand for these changes.
