Meet the speakers: Mitigating risk
On the 27th of March, Why me? will be holding our first forum of 2025 on the topic of ‘Mitigating risk’. The forums are an opportunity for anyone with an interest in Restorative Justice to come together and share their thoughts and ideas on a particular topic pertinent to the sector. The March session will be chaired by leading academic and Why me? Trustee, Professor Tim Chapman. We will also share a presentation from Professor Emeritus Joanna Shapland, who has written extensively on this area of work.
The topic
Safety is a guiding principle of Restorative Justice, but naturally, facilitating a dialogue between someone who was harmed and someone who caused the harm comes with many risks. The job of a facilitator is to ensure that these risks are managed effectively and that the process remains safe throughout. But, how do they do this? How do we ensure that a Restorative Justice process is safe? At what point is a meeting too risky? What are the risks of not exploring a restorative process?
The speakers
We are fortunate to be joined by two leading experts for this session. The event will be chaired by academic and Why me? Trustee, Professor Tim Chapman.
Tim Chapman had a lengthy career in the Probation Service in Northern Ireland, rising to a senior management position. He spent 10 years as a lecturer and course director of the Masters programme in Restorative Practices at the University of Ulster. He now teaches at the University of Sassari, Italy, as a Visiting Professor and at The University of Strathclyde as a Visiting Professor. He also offers training, research and consultancy in Restorative Justice. He has published widely in effective probation practice, youth justice and Restorative Justice. He is writing a book about
victims’ experience of Restorative Justice and is leading a Restorative Justice programme on child sexual abuse.
For this session we will also be joined by Professor Emeritus Joanna Shapland from the University of Sheffield. Throughout her long and distinguished career, Professor Shapland has published extensively on the subject of Restorative Justice. In 2022, she co-authored a highly-regarded report for the Scottish government entitled ‘Mitigation and risk in Restorative Justice’ and has since published further papers on this subject. Joanna will be sharing some of her findings from these reports and her thoughts on the role of risk in Restorative Justice, and how it can be managed effectively.
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