A restorative circle is a systemic approach to resolving conflict that is used to restore trust, dignity and respect within organisations and communities, and to agree actions for moving forwards without assigning blame or punishment.
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Everyone involved gets a chance to be heard for what is important to them, with the process being guided through past, present and future.
In the present section, participants focus on how they feel impacted by the event that took place.
In the past section, they reflect on the intentions behind what was said or done.
The future section is for making agreements and offering next steps to restore harmony.
To convey understanding and build empathy, the circle follows the following format:
Each speaker shares one aspect of their experience at a time rather than voicing everything they want to at once. Participants continue to take turns to speak until the facilitator(s) are confident that meaning has been exchanged, and that participants have a new understanding of each others’ perspective. The facilitator(s) guide the process, and may intervene at times if they perceive something important is not being picked up on.
Restorative circles are designed to support mutual understanding, and are focused on healing and moving forward, rather than blame and punishment. Restorative circles are community-owned practices based on the principles of restorative justice. They can be equally effective to restore harm following crime (when there is a victim-perpetrator dynamic) and to repair relationships damaged by inter-personal conflict, (when two or more parties feel equally wronged by the other). In schools, restorative circles are often used as an alternative disciplinary strategy.
Restorative Circles were developed by Dominic Barter, arising from his work with local teenagers in the gang-controlled favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the mid 1990s. Dominic Barter’s work has since influenced both federal and state justice policy throughout Brazil.
Systems based on similar principles of restorative justice have been traditionally used by indigenous communities throughout the world.
This is an example of a restorative justice circle where we get together with all parties that were impacted by a conflict. We discuss how it made us feel, and what actions need to happen going forward.
This Video is in english.Circle processes are a restorative dialogue practice inspired by the traditional ways of Native American, First Nation, and other indigenous peoples. Schools are adapting this practice to strengthen relationships between members of the school community, enhance learning, address conflict, and provide social-emotional support to students.
This Video is in english.SchoolTalk's RestorativeDC brings you this introductorary video on restorative justice, an approach to community building, responding to harm, and social-emotional skill building. This video highlights the implementation of restorative practices in D.C. public and charter schools, and details how these practices improve student and staff engagement, safety, and create a positive school culture.
This Video is in english.Restorative Justice is an alternative to the conventional retributive justice systems on which court and prison systems are based. It involves all stakeholders, by providing victims with the opportunity to meet or communicate with the offender to describe and explain exactly how the crime has affected them.
Restorative circles can be used within community groups, communities of practice, organisations, schools, and even federal and state judicial systems, or anywhere that conflict manifests.
The method works best if it is embedded within a community or organisation, and if there is systemic agreement that any agreed outcomes of the process will be supported by the system (when applied in schools, for instance, it helps if there is agreement beforehand that the school authorities will abide by any decisions made within the circle). Restorative circles should always be optional - it should never be a requirement of any institution that individuals take part.
There is no hierarchy within the circle, and each participant speaks as an equal, not as a boss/employee, teacher/student, or whatever their role may be outside of the circle.
A willingness to attend, and to follow the process (this involves an agreement to reflect back another participant’s viewpoint when asked, and to refrain from expressing their own opinions out of turn) It is recommended that participants complete a pre-circle with the facilitator before the main circle.
Conflicts usually carry a sense (often on both ‘sides’) that someone has been ‘wronged’. Although the tension is often strongest between two or more individuals, the events that lead to the issue arising often involve more than those ‘in conflict’. Anyone involved may request a restorative circle.
Facilitator(s) first need to establish a time and venue that suits all participants (https://www.when2meet.com/ is a useful tool for establishing group availability - remember to include the timezone if participants are living in different countries). For online restorative circles, Zoom, or alternative video conferencing platforms, provide adequate meeting space - facilitators will need access to either a pro Zoom account, or equivalent which allows meetings that are not time limited. The link should be shared with all participants in advance of the circle.
Pre-circles ensure that each participant feels understood in their position and for their intentions before the main circle, and that they receive genuine empathy for how the situation has impacted them. This helps to diffuse some of the initial strong feelings, which supports the participants’ capacity to stay present and hear what is being said in the main circle, even when tensions are high. Pre-circles also help in building trust in the process and the facilitator(s).
The facilitator(s) meet with each individual and gain an understanding of each perspective and the background of the conflict. They also determine what ‘event’ took place that all parties to the conflict would agree had actually happened. This needs to be a concrete action (such as ‘he didn’t turn up to the meeting’ - not ‘he doesn’t respect my work’, which is a subjective judgement, not an objective fact).
The facilitator(s) also ask who else ought to be present at the restorative circle, then contact those individuals, and invite them to take part in a pre-circle, too.
This process can be relatively brief (20-30 mins) or can take longer - what is necessary is for a participant to feel satisfied with what they’ve expressed and how heard they feel. Upon completion they consent to taking part in the process.
After welcoming the participants, the facilitator(s) explain the process and the purpose of the restorative circle.The circle can commence when everyone agrees to follow the format. The facilitator(s) also checks that all participants are in agreement that the event described in the pre-circles did, in fact, take place.
For the following steps, participants take turns to speak, and hear their viewpoint reflected back, following the format described above (see ‘What happens in a restorative circle?’):
The facilitator(s) first invite participants to reflect on how they feel now in relation to the agreed event, or its consequences.
Conversation in the impacts section is structured around these or similar questions: “how are you now in relation to the event that happened? How has it impacted you? What effect has the action and its consequences had on you?” Everyone gets to speak and hear their views reflected back.
Once each participant has spoken and feels heard then the dialogue is centred around the motivation and intentions behind each party's actions. The questions may look like: “What were you intending at the time? What were you looking for when you took x action?” Again, everyone gets a chance to speak and have their experience reflected back.
The final step in the main circle is to offer or request actions that will restore trust, dignity and respect among the members. The facilitator ensures that everyone is sharing the same understanding by reiterating what they hear as being offered, requested or agreed. An action plan is agreed, which the facilitator(s) writes up and shares with everyone.
Pre-circles ensure that each participant feels understood in their position and for their intentions before the main circle, and that they receive genuine empathy for how the situation has impacted them. This helps to diffuse some of the initial strong feelings, which supports the participants’ capacity to stay present and hear what is being said in the main circle, even when tensions are high. Pre-circles also help in building trust in the process and the facilitator(s).
The facilitator(s) meet with each individual and gain an understanding of each perspective and the background of the conflict. They also determine what ‘event’ took place that all parties to the conflict would agree had actually happened. This needs to be a concrete action (such as ‘he didn’t turn up to the meeting’ - not ‘he doesn’t respect my work’, which is a subjective judgement, not an objective fact).
The facilitator(s) also ask who else ought to be present at the restorative circle, then contact those individuals, and invite them to take part in a pre-circle, too.
This process can be relatively brief (20-30 mins) or can take longer - what is necessary is for a participant to feel satisfied with what they’ve expressed and how heard they feel. Upon completion they consent to taking part in the process.
Mel White and Aaron Bailey live in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Ireland, where they are working with a team of trained facilitators to embed conflict resolution systems both within the Ecovillage community and the activist network of Extinction Rebellion Ireland.
