Resources
Restorative Justice is a powerful tool that can transform the lives of people affected by crime.
85% of victims who took part in a Restorative Justice meeting were satisfied with the process.
Restorative Justice can reduce reoffending rates by up to 27%.
Despite these benefits, only 5.5% of victims with a known offender recall being told about Restorative Justice.
For every £1 invested in Restorative Justice, £14 is saved.
Here you can find our latest reports, guides and resources, which show the impact of Restorative Justice, share best practice and demonstrate how access to Restorative Justice can be widened.
Restorative Justice for Domestic and Sexual Violence
January 2025
Survivors of domestic or sexual violence can often feel excluded, confused,
and revictimized by the criminal justice process. Restorative Justice
empowers them to explain the impact the crime had on their life and seek
answers about what happened.
In this short guide, we explore what the restorative process can look like for survivors of these crimes, and how it can be tailored to suit the individual’s needs. This should help organisations supporting survivors to see how transformative Restorative Justice can be.
Healing Community Harm: A restorative response to violence and disorder
November 2024
In July 2024, a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport left three young children murdered and 10 others injured. Following this attack, widespread racist and Islamophobic violence and unrest spread across the UK. This was fuelled by misinformation online, political and media commentary and other socio-economic factors in the communities most affected.
Following this violence, many communities have been looking for ways to repair the harm, move forward, and prevent future unrest. In this report, based on a consultation session with the sector, Why me? explore how Restorative Justice can play a part in the journey towards healing. Why me? would like to thank the AB Charitable Trust for their support in creating this report.
The role of relational and restorative practice in Alternative Provision: Reducing violence and overcoming barriers to learning
July 2024
In this report, Dr Belinda Hopkins explores the use of restorative practice in pupil referral units or alternative education provision. We conducted preliminary research into the extent to which violence is an issue in Alternative Provision establishments, whether it is a major barrier to learning and what constitutes best practice in such settings to reduce, or even prevent, violence happening. The main focus was on restorative practice and its role in reducing direct violence. The report ends with a series of recommendations about the most effective way to implement restorative work in alternative provision.
How to communicate Restorative Justice effectively
March 2024
Not many people know what Restorative Justice is, and for criminal justice professionals, it can be hard to explain to someone affected by crime. This short guide gives suggestions as to how to communicate Restorative Justice most effectively, ensuring that a wider range of people can access it. Based on our extensive research into reframing, the guide covers the language you should use, how to avoid misconceptions and the topics you should focus on when bringing it up.
Good practice when working with LGBTQ+ hate crimes and incidents
February 2024
This Good Practice Guide is the culmination of our learning over the past five years of our project exploring the use of Restorative Justice for LGBTQ+ hate crime. The purpose is to provide a guide for restorative services and practitioners to promote and support Restorative Justice for those affected by LGBTQ+ hate crimes and incidents. We hope that services and practitioners will gain knowledge from our work and implement the recommendations to ensure that both the LGBTQ+ and restorative sectors are working to meet the needs of those affected by LGBTQ+ hate crime.
Restorative Justice for Young Adults in Prison and on Probation
November 2023
We all want young people to be able to lead productive, safe and healthy lives. But many young people in contact with the Criminal Justice System become trapped in a spiral of crime, unable to see a way out. Why me? completed a three-year project aiming to improve access to Restorative Justice for children and young people, supporting them to escape the spiral of crime and make positive changes to their lives. This short report, aimed at policy-makers and HMPPS, contains key policy recommendations for improving access to Restorative Justice for young adults.
Good practice when working with English as an Additional Language speakers
August 2023
One of the key premises of Restorative Justice is that dialogue enables people to address and resolve matters that arise from harmful actions. For Restorative Justice to work effectively, words need to be heard and understood. But people affected by crime who don’t speak English as a first language often face cultural and language barriers to accessing the Criminal Justice System.
Through Project Articulate, Why me? worked to ensure that Restorative Justice is inclusive and participative for all, including people who speak English as an Additional Language. This Good Practice Guide gives practitioners support and guidance to do this well.
Tackling pupil instances of Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (HBT) and Restorative Justice
July 2023
We worked on this informational leaflet in collaboration with the Free2B Alliance as part of our ‘Access to justice: Restorative Justice for LGBTQ+ hate crime‘ project. This resource will be used to educate schools on instances of HBT-phobia and how Restorative Justice can be used to repair some of the harms that have been caused by these incidents.
Understanding barriers to Restorative Justice for young people, young adults and victims of crime
March 2023
This report is based on Why me?’s three-year project which started in September 2020 and focused on improving Restorative Justice for young people and young adults. This project enabled us to learn more about the barriers preventing the wider use of Restorative Justice for young people and young adults.
Youth Justice Services: Good Practice Guide
December 2022
This Good Practice Guide is a compilation of our learnings over the first two years of our Youth Justice project. The guide provides guidance for practitioners working within the Youth Justice sector in relation to Restorative Justice and restorative practices. We hope that practitioners will gain knowledge from our work and implement these recommendations to ensure that the Youth Justice sector is working restoratively to best meet the needs of the young people within it.
An Economic Evaluation of Restorative Justice
November 2022
Why me? conducted an economic evaluation of Restorative Justice, comparing restorative interventions for victims of crime and offenders with the conventional justice system. The research analysed the economic impacts of Restorative Justice interventions, including impacts on reoffending and direct benefits to victims. This report shares our findings and is accompanied by an economic model that can be used to measure the economic benefit of Restorative Justice in different areas.
Using restorative approaches for sexual and domestic abuse: A personal choice
October 2021
This report builds on academic research, the testimony of Why me? ambassadors and existing good practice to unpick the benefits, concerns and best practice for using restorative approaches in cases of domestic and sexual abuse. In a world where survivors of sexual and domestic abuse are so often silenced, doubted and retraumatised, Restorative Justice can make them feel empowered, listened to and able to move forward. Having said this, the risks to the physical and emotional safety of participants need to be considered and managed by restorative facilitators alongside specialists in sexual and domestic abuse.
We are calling on the Government to fund training of restorative facilitators; ensure restorative services are available to anyone affected by crime; and empower more survivors to experience the benefits that our ambassadors have shared.
Safe-To-Be by Speak Out Project – Handbook
October 2020
The purpose of this article is to map out the considerations that need to be taken into account to conduct Restorative Justice for cases of LGBTQ+ hate crime. It includes key points as they arise at each stage of the Restorative Justice process – from before initial contact has been made, through to debrief and beyond.
Virtual Restorative Justice: Good Practice Guide
September 2020
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, restorative services were facing demands to deliver Restorative Justice virtually, which the majority of them had never considered before. The concept of virtual Restorative Justice brings up many new challenges which restorative providers needed to consider. With these challenges in mind, this guide goes into detail about the considerations that facilitators should take into account when managing an online restorative process.
Evidence supporting Restorative Justice
November 2019
This is a briefing paper on the evidence that supports the use of Restorative Justice within the Criminal Justice System. This paper highlights the importance of Restorative Justice and the positive impact it can have on victims and other stakeholders in the process.