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Around the world, restorative justice has taken shape in diverse forms, reflecting the values and needs of local cultures while offering a unifying emphasis on healing, accountability, and community repair. Here are some notable examples:
- New Zealand – Family Group Conferences: Originating in New Zealand, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) are a pioneering model in restorative justice. They bring together victims, offenders, families, and community members to address harm, encourage accountability, and design collaborative solutions. Widely adopted elsewhere, FGCs remain a cornerstone of New Zealand’s youth justice system.
- Norway – Correctional Services: Norway’s prison system is internationally recognized for its rehabilitative focus. Restorative justice principles guide correctional services, emphasizing dialogue, responsibility, and reintegration. The system seeks to create supportive environments where offenders can grow, learn, and re-enter society with dignity.
- Rwanda – Gacaca Courts: In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda’s Gacaca courts brought communities together for truth-telling, reconciliation, and healing. These community-based courts emphasized dialogue, forgiveness, and reintegration, while also addressing the vast number of cases outside the formal justice system.
- Canada – Indigenous Healing Circles: Rooted in Indigenous traditions, Healing Circles provide spaces for dialogue, accountability, and healing. Emphasizing holistic approaches, these circles address harm by involving victims, offenders, families, and community members, while recognizing the deep interconnection between people and the land.
- Brazil – Restorative Juvenile Justice: Brazil has introduced restorative justice practices in its juvenile system, particularly through Mediation Centers. These programs engage youth offenders, victims, and communities in dialogue to repair harm and create pathways for reintegration rather than incarceration.
- Australia – Youth Justice Conferencing: Widely practiced across Australia, Youth Justice Conferencing brings offenders, victims, and supporters together to explore the impact of offenses and agree on restitution. These programs emphasize accountability, reconciliation, and community reintegration for young people.
- South Africa – Post-Apartheid Restorative Practices: Following apartheid, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) became one of the most visible global examples of restorative approaches to systemic violence. Combining testimony, confession, and forgiveness, the TRC sought to balance truth-telling with national healing.
- United Kingdom – Restorative Schools and Criminal Justice Programs: The UK has integrated restorative practices into both its justice system and schools. From police diversion schemes to whole-school restorative approaches, programs emphasize reducing recidivism, building trust, and fostering empathy.
- South Korea – Community-Based Mediation: South Korea has introduced restorative practices into schools and local communities, emphasizing conflict mediation, relationship repair, and preventative approaches to reduce violence and bullying.
- Sierra Leone – Community-Based Restorative Justice: After the civil war, Sierra Leone integrated restorative practices into community reconciliation, often drawing upon traditional practices of dialogue and ritual. These processes focused on reintegration of child soldiers and community healing.
Why Global Models Matter
These global examples demonstrate the adaptability of restorative justice across cultures and contexts. From Indigenous healing circles to national reconciliation processes, restorative practices show that justice can be about restoring relationships, building trust, and creating new pathways of belonging. Collectively, they reveal how compassion-centered justice can reduce recidivism, foster healing, and strengthen communities.
