We define restorative justice as a movement oriented by a set of guiding principles that prioritize building community and connection, democratic participation, and responding to harm in ways that embrace relationships, inclusiveness, support and accountability.  

Restorative Justice is rooted in indigenous and first nations practices from around the world that recognize the centrality of relationship and community and work to build community and repair relationships in the face of harm and wrongdoing.

Restorative Justice, as a movement, emerged as an alternative approach to more punitive approaches within the criminal legal system, but has expanded to include efforts to build restorative culture and practices within schools, workplaces, communities, etc.  You can find out more about Restorative Justice in our Resources Section.

Please visit our Criminal Legal Resources page to find more information related to incarceration in Georgia and throughout the country.

We see restorative justice (RJ) and transformative justice (TJ) as sister movements seeking to empower individuals and communities to work together to solve problems, repair harm and work through conflict in a way that is inclusive, participatory and seeks the wellbeing of all involved.  

Traditionally, restorative justice is seen to work for transformation within systems, such as in schools and the criminal legal system.  Transformative justice is typically seen as a community-based effort to collaboratively address the challenges and harm that emerge within communities, particularly communities most affected by poverty, crime, violence, including state sanctioned violence, and harm.  As Mia Mingus states, “TJ was created by and for many of these communities (e.g. indigenous communities, black communities, immigrant communities of color, poor and low-income communities, communities of color, people with disabilities, sex workers, queer and trans communities).”

Both restorative justice and transformative justice seek to get to the root of the harm in order to respond in ways that recognize broader societal and systemic causes of harm. Both TJ and RJ seek to ensure that efforts to repair violence and harm don’t just treat the symptoms, but work to address the underlying conditions that create the context for secondary and interpersonal violence.

Here is a recent panel discussion about transformative justice from Yes! Magazine’s Yes! Fest that features some movement leaders, including Athens Commissioner Mariah Parker.

Here is a link to more resources related to Transformative Justice.