Reflections on Restorative Justice Week 2025
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter and our RJ Programmes Manager, Anika Cosgrove.
What a week! The entire restorative sector came together last week to celebrate Restorative Justice Week, sharing resources, collaborating on social media, joining forces at events and amplifying the stories of Restorative Justice to reach beyond the restorative bubble. In this blog we reflect on what took place over the course of the week.
Sector connections at the RJC conference
The Restorative Justice Council marked the beginning of Restorative Justice week by holding an online two-day conference, which we attended and ran a workshop on our Interfaith Restorative Justice project. People from all over the country attended, including representatives from statutory services, third sector organisations, individual practitioners, and various charities. We were all united by a common interest in the principles and practices of Restorative Justice.
We were provided with engaging briefings from facilitators who sit across a variation of services, including social care, criminal justice and local authority, giving us insight into Restorative Justice developed areas, live projects and impact. Not only did this space provide an opportunity for learning, dialogue, and professional growth among practitioners but attendees were also given valuable insights that could inspire similar approaches. It provided a unique opportunity to explore the expansive possibilities of Restorative Justice beyond its usual realms, challenging the conventional boundaries that often limit its full potential.
The conference covered a broad spectrum of topics, including The role of Artificial Intelligence in enhancing Restorative Practices, The importance of adopting Restorative language to foster a cultural shift within organisations, and Strategies to address and challenge inequality, to name a few. Each of these topics highlighted the need for the sector to remain responsive and adaptive to the evolving societal landscape.
Restorative Justice has undergone significant evolution since its introduction into Western culture, and it is crucial for practitioners to continue this trajectory of growth and challenge. By engaging in these discussions, participants reinforced their commitment to not only uphold the core values of Restorative Justice but also to explore new approaches that can enhance its effectiveness.
The conference ultimately served as a reminder that Restorative Justice is not a static concept but a dynamic practice that requires ongoing reflection, adaptation, and innovation. As facilitators left the conference, they carried with them renewed inspiration and actionable insights, ready to contribute to the ongoing evolution of
Restorative Justice in their respective fields.
Restorative Justice on the stage
On Tuesday evening, the Why me? team attended Punch the play, to watch the performance and to support our Ambassador, Nick Dawson, who was speaking in the post-show panel.
The show was spectacular, a true representation of the restorative process told in an engaging format that kept the audience hooked throughout. The moment that Jacob, Joan and David came together in their first restorative meeting on the stage, you could hear a pin drop in the audience. Whilst the focus of the play was on Jacob’s journey through childhood and beyond the restorative process, the audience left with a true understanding of what Restorative Justice means and how it can benefit people affected by crime.
The show was followed by a panel event, hosted by the play’s Producer, Kate Pakenham. Joining our Ambassador Nick was actor and Patron of Remedi, Michael Palin, and Calm Mediation’s Julie Clark.
Nick’s identical twin brother, Simon, was murdered shortly after their 30th birthday. He shared during the panel that initially, he wanted revenge for the death of his brother and “wanted to kill” the two men who had murdered Simon. He went on to describe how the restorative process that came over a decade later allowed the “bitterness and hatred to dissolve” and “humanised what I thought was a monster”. Nick ended by sharing that “before Restorative Justice I was a victim of crime, but after, I felt like a survivor”.
You can hear Nick’s full story in this episode of our Restorative Talks podcast.
Julie explained that sometimes Restorative Justice is “quietly magical” rather than “loud” or “epic”. Whilst the play demonstrates an extraordinary story of transformation where a meeting led to years of collaboration, this isn’t always the case. Restorative Justice can be transformative in the small moments too – getting a question answered, feeling a weight off your shoulders or being able to feel safer on your way home from work. Julie also aptly highlighted that Restorative Justice is “not right for everybody, but it is everybody’s right to find out if it is right for them”.
Michael Palin shared his connection to Restorative Justice, having met Jacob Dunne after delivering a Longford Lecture and his interest in supporting families of people in prison. He went on to become the Patron of Remedi. He shared on the panel his belief that “there is goodness in everybody” and how the restorative process is about understanding and compassion.
The play was also attended by Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation. We look forward to seeing the ongoing impact of the play, and the increased profile that Restorative Justice has received as a result.
Experts by experience
On Thursday, we hosted an event to launch our ‘Damage and Repair’ project, which has captured 21 interviews with people who have experience of Restorative Justice in some form. We were joined by a panel of speakers, two of whom had participated in Restorative Justice themselves, and one who was a facilitator and interviewer in our project.
Khamran Uddin shared his story of going through Restorative Justice after going to prison for committing a violent, unprovoked attack. He candidly shared how his desire to apologise to the man he attacked drove him to pursue Restorative Justice, even once he had been released back into the community. “I wasn’t seeking anything out of it, I just wanted to apologise”. Khamran shared how impactful the meeting was; “He was willing to listen to me, I was really taken aback by that… I left him in a pool of his own blood and now he’s smiling at me… he helped me feel human”. Finally, Khamran explained how the process “transformed my life”, adding that “it taught me things that I’d never been taught before”.
Jo Berry CBE spoke openly about the impact of her father being killed in the Brighton bombings in 1984. She shared how, following his death, she met face-to-face with the man responsible for planting the bomb. “The only person I thought would understand was him… that bomb took away the person I was at that time… the more he knows me, the more he knows the impact”. This meeting led to a journey that resulted in the two working together in pursuit of peacebuilding decades later. Now a restorative facilitator herself, Jo shared that Restorative Justice is a “vehicle done with huge emotional safety”. She ended by adding that “we might not have a choice over what happens to us, but we have a choice about how we respond”.
Both Jo and Khamran talked about how the process humanised them and explored themes of empathy being brought about through the restorative process.
Our third panellist, Wendy Mclean, shared her experience of facilitating Restorative Justice, as well as taking on the role of interviewer for Why me?’s Damage and Repair project. She reflected on the challenges faced by the restorative sector and the parallels between Jo and Khamran’s stories. Wendy identified how both Jo and Khamran had to overcome barriers to access a restorative process, showing determination that not all people affected by crime would be able to maintain. She therefore urged the importance of wider awareness of Restorative Justice to allow for greater access.
Did you miss?
Over the course of the week, we also shared the following:
- We have launched episode one of our new Restorative Talks podcast series, ‘Face to face with the man who murdered my twin brother’.
- We have a new Patron, Jo Berry CBE, who also shared a blog on the 25th anniversary of her meeting the man who killed her father.
- We have signed the EFRJ’s manifesto on Restorative Justice as a human right and shared a blog on what this right might look like.
