Testimonials
At Restorative Justice Victoria (RJV) we conduct extensive evaluation on our work, the outcomes of which demonstrate high levels of satisfaction amongst participants. Below are quotes from past clients regarding their experiences with RJV and the impact of the process on their lives. Click on the arrows beside the quotes to see more.
Victims
The support and leadership provided by RJV throughout a very challenging period for us was remarkable. From our first contact with RJV through to the natural resolution, the process was conducted professionally and in a very considerate manner. We truly felt our needs were supported and at no time during the process did we feel pressured or uncomfortable. Thank you for your support and service to the community!
The most harm done to me was the shattering of my faith in people. I was able to meet with the offender, realize it was a crime of opportunity and fully accept it was nothing personal. It was apparent that his life was going to improve thanks to this process. I was able to finally process my anger and once again see that all things happen for a good reason. In this case, it was in order for the offender to do something meaningful for our community and resolve his feelings of guilt so he could move on.
The traditional court system would not have been appropriate, and I am happy I had this alternative. The RJ staff were exceedingly empathetic, organized and knowledgeable and willing to listen attentively and offer input.
This is a truly amazing process in the right set of circumstances. I believe very effective for victims too.
I feel empowered and felt important throughout the process. My feelings were truly cared about. I feel I have healed more now and feel a sense of personal growth.
After dealing with a number of cases through both restorative justice and the criminal justice system, my appreciation for the restorative justice process has grown substantially over the past 12 months. Although I have always been a supporter of restorative justice, the accountability driven results are undoubtably more meaningful and beneficial to all parties involved; something that our conventional justice system cannot compare with.
For me, an important realization was the idea that justice itself could be offered in another way. In other words, justice wasn't something that was only accomplished by a judicial sentence – restorative justice is an alternative to that system. And it is indeed a form of justice, just one that starts with the victim, not the offender.
This has been one of the most supportive and positive experiences I have ever had. You folks are very skilled.
It was a space to facilitate healing and get some answers to questions I had.
Going through the traditional court system, I would have felt more victimized which is something I did not experience [in restorative justice].
I’ve actually noticed a revived sense of meaning in my work and purpose in my life.
I did not experience any climate of fear or authoritarianism, only empathy and understanding.
It was very worth doing.
My faith in the inherent good in people has recovered. Though I know I will always run into situations that are less than ethical or moral. It just feels great to have been so involved in a process that was a healing process for both parties.
I feel a sense of closure.
It [the crime] was a door closed so that blockage has opened and I feel anything is possible. I feel that I am a brave person for speaking the truth and I faced my fears.
Our experience with restorative justice was a very unusual case and we appreciate the efforts made by the entire team to make this a healing process by thinking and acting outside the box.
I am walking away with the closure I wasn’t expecting to get.
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I believe I am harder on myself than anyone else; however, I feel strongly that the restorative justice process and agreement terms and follow through will help me remember how I feel and the victims felt as a result of my actions. Next time I feel desperate/reckless, I will remember all of you and how I felt.
Going through the process where you had to think about who was affected helped out a lot rather than if you are charged and you don't have to think or deal with the problem. With RJ, you deal with what you did. It helped me wanna change.
RJ showed me the scope of harm that resulted from my actions. I hadn’t realized just how many people can be affected by a single moment, by a single action of mine. In realizing this, I don’t think I would have been able to come to terms with the harm I caused without the supportive volunteers and RJ’s process and agreement terms.
I truly did not know how deeply my actions effected the community. Thank you for helping me be the person I want to be.
Restorative justice helped me discover the issues I had deep down that lead to the incident. I felt like the officers, although they arrested me, still had a heart to see through a criminal charge and into the reasons I committed a crime and made difficult choices. It was nice to hear someone did not just treat me as a case.
RJ has helped me through this offence by letting me express myself and be honest about what happened in a safe and respectful environment. The entire process has helped me progress and get through the guilt.
The experience of having a mentor talk through situations and events with me was extremely helpful. The mentor I had went above and beyond to learn the situation and help me through it. She was involved in many aspects of my life on a weekly basis and I can't express how grateful I am for the mentor I had.
It made me a realize I have some issues I need to work on. A lot of my past and trauma was and is a big part of why I did what I did, and I am working on moving on from my past and trying to make myself a better person.
I am so grateful for this experience; I feel privileged and blessed to have taken part in this program. I feel I understand more about myself, and I understand what drove me to commit a crime. I know I can now move forward, confident that I will be able to prevent something like this from happening again with strategies I’ve built in restorative justice. Thank you so much for this program.
Although I can't return back in time and erase my crime, I feel better about myself on a daily basis. I am still very much ashamed of my crime, but the agreement we reached allows me to face each new day with a sense that I am repairing the harm I created.
It opened my mind also to how my actions affected other members of the community who had witnessed what had happened and the possible adverse effects that may have caused them. Before then I never thought my actions could have hurt anyone but the [person] involved directly and it made me realize how one single action could negatively affect many people.
I am astounded, I thought I was going to be judged but they helped me realize my true desire to be a member of the community.
I have found the beginning of closure and throughout the process I can honestly say I am a different person.
I was ashamed and now I feel proud of my decision to pay for the damages and to see the error in my decision.
I was in a cycle of blaming others and making excuses for my decisions. I now see my decisions differently.
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Offenders
Supporters
of Victims
of Victims
Dealing with this type of crime through the courts is very traumatizing, as the offender attempts to mitigate responsibility and receive a lighter sentence. In RJ, the offender accepts responsibility, which is key in the healing journey for the victim.
The process met my goal of coming to a conclusion for my son and all those complicated by this tragedy.
So impressed with the skills, commitment and presence of the facilitators, mentors, and community volunteers. Such high quality and effective, professional, and focused.
Simply grateful for the alternative form of justice system, which shows heart and compassion. Actually a healing process which serves to help the “village".
I can see that greater “justice” was served and more healing arrived at from the victim's standpoint (and the perpetrator).
Seeing both sides – the impact on the perpetrator and seeing the “peace” that it gave my daughter, the victim.
Healing, closure, peace of mind, connection with community.
The ability to express the multitude of emotions that has occurred from this incident. The ability to communicate is crucial.
I’m very impressed with how RJ worked in dealing with such a traumatizing occurrence. I strongly believe we need alternatives to traditional court process and RJ seems promising.
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I highly agree that RJ is wonderful resource for healing and bettering individuals as opposed to the court process which can be very debilitating. I have learned the importance of communication and healing and not just on a personal level but as a community.
This is the best way to make a person good.
It has made them [the offender] see the severity of making bad decisions and given them another chance, and given them a chance to give back.
Finding out and knowing the full story of what happened so that we as a family can work together to never have this happen again.
He has definitely learned how important his actions are and how they affect the community and all parties involved. He has learned to turn a bad experience into a wonderful opportunity to share his experience with others in the community and hopefully prevent people – especially youth – from going down a wrong path.
I really want to stress how beneficial the RJ program is. This is real justice and real healing and I hope that there are more funds and services provided to this resource. Thank you for everything!
Restorative justice gave the opportunity for all parties involved to meet. It gave our son the opportunity to hear the widespread impacts of his actions. He wrote letters that forced him to reflect on his actions. The series of meetings was helpful in that it promoted accountability.
I believe the process leaves all affected in a position to recover from the event in a way that limits the possibility that it will take over somebody’s life.
Restorative justice really allowed [the offender] to change and adjust their behaviour. More importantly, restorative justice really helped stimulate a discussion which allowed healing to take place on both sides.
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Supporters of Offenders
Police
"I love to get involved in a case where my input actually has the chance to make a difference."
"It was amazing to see the amount of reflection the offender had done with the help of RJV."
"It's great to hear of a win like this in a job where we don't get many"
This is a huge asset to the community that not enough police know about.
The process was extremely well organized and dealt with in a timely manner.
I believe that the program is very beneficial to addressing the needs of the victim while hold offenders accountable, and on the flip side it strengthens relationships between the community, offenders, and victims and could be a good tool for offenders to get help and stop offending.
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