Justice for all

Restorative justice is an important topic to understand and discuss. Andy Izenson, Sr. Legal Director at the Chosen Family Law Center, Inc., joined us for this episode to offer their expertise about the topic.

Restorative justice and transformative justice are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two subcategories of the same concept with the underlying foundation that a community should focus on healing rather than punishment when responding to harm. Restorative justice is specifically geared towards healing the harm that was suffered by the person experiencing it. By contrast, transformative justice is a broader concept, relying on the idea that if something bad happens between members of a community, everyone is somewhat responsible, because the community members played parts in collectively setting the norms that govern everyone’s behavior.

Criticizing restorative justice

Some critics of restorative justice claim that it trivializes the harm done by essentially claiming that the perpetrator got away with whatever they did if there was no punishment or consequence. However, this mindset often misinterprets restorative justice to mean that nothing should be done. Instead, those who advocate for restorative justice acknowledge and empathize with the victim’s pain, which arguably is more healing than simple punishment. Through this lens, justice does not equal punishment.

“That's the version of [my abuser] that needs to die and to be destroyed. Not the dude who lives in Wichita and is a used car salesman now. Whatever happens to him doesn't actually impact my healing. The guy that needs to die is the guy in my head.”

Andy Izenson

There is also the assumption that this means there is no anger to be felt, which is also incorrect. Anger isn’t necessarily a bad emotion: what its presence is saying is “I deserved to be safe and I wasn’t.” It’s proof that you value yourself enough to be upset about what happened, and that’s important to feel. What can help with the snap judgement of “I’m angry because this happened to me and the person who did it needs to suffer” is practicing mindfulness and discernment. Recognizing that you’re acknowledging your right to feel safe and that you weren’t safe and not deciding whether or not someone needs to suffer is the first step towards healing.

Make sure you listen to the episode to get Andy’s full and valuable perspective, along with their recommendations on how to take action in your community. Visit www.chosenfamilylawcenter.org for access to educational resources and information about legal counsel, as well as details about their upcoming fundraiser on April 30th.