RJ and Gender-based Violence

Restorative Approaches for Gender-based Violence

March 14, 2022

While punitive and carceral approaches have been the principal responses to gender-based violence in the United States, there is growing interest in using restorative approaches to heal from the harm caused, promote accountability and ensure that the cycle of violence is not perpetuated.  

Danielle Sered, Common Justice Director, says that all solutions to violence should adhere to four guiding principles.  Interventions to prevent and intervene in violence should:

  • Be survivor-centered - The needs of survivors should be centered and prioritized
  • Accountability-based - Common Justice highlights five key elements of accountability: (1) acknowledging one’s responsibility for one’s actions, (2) acknowledging the impact of one’s actions on others, (3) expressing genuine remorse, (4) taking actions to repair the harm to the degree possible, and (5) no longer committing similar harm.
  • Safety-driven - our response to violence should prioritize community safety and finding ways of ensuring safety, while minimizing isolation and coercion.
  • Racially equitable - First of all, survivors of color are less likely: to have their needs met, their needs centered, and their desires heeded.  Second of all, we have to focus on the systemic and structural racial inequities that are a driver of gender-based violence, like racial inequity found in our schools, employment, housing, healthcare and mental health support.

At GCC, we see the Restorative Justice Movement and the Transformative Justice Movement as sister movements seeking to promote and enact these guiding principles.  As GCC explores ways of incorporating restorative approaches to gender-based violence in Athens and beyond, we seek to learn from the transformative justice (TJ) movement.  Mia Mingus, writer and organizer with the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective, describes Transformative Justice on her blog Leaving Evidence as “a political framework for responding to violence, harm & abuse…without creating more violence.”  


We invite you to learn more about the transformative justice movement and efforts to end gender based violence by exploring TJ resources and reflections here.

other blogs and recommended reading

'Unsung Hero': The Baker and Activist Whose Death Inspired Calls for Restorative Justice

After Jen Angel’s shocking death, loved ones honor her legacy of punk zines, gourmet dinner nights and social justice projects.

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Weaver School Embraces ‘Peacemaker Event’ on Campus

In collaboration with the Restorative Justice League of Merced, the “Weaver Peacemaker Event” is an all day event that focuses on educating students to “promote kindness and build a culture of peace on campus.”

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Restorative Practices for the Seven Generations to Come

“History is asking us to become healers. We are so good at causing harm, at every level. We are experts at that. So I want to thank you for answering history’s call so that we will have a future for the seven generations to come.” - Dr. Fania Davis

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Solidarity as Social and Emotional Safety

This model of social and emotional learning emphasizes mutual aid, restorative justice and safety by design.

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