Restorative Justice and Trauma: Responding to the Needs and Misdeeds of Young People with Trauma Histories.

ABSTRACT

Young people that offend evidence higher rates of trauma and post-traumatic distress than non-offending peers. Effects of post-traumatic distress also parallel research on some young people that participate in restorative justice (RJ) meetings who struggle with communication, emotionally withdraw, become agitated or defiant, evidence poor understanding of harms they have caused, or fail to demonstrate empathy or remorse. In this paper I suggest post-traumatic distress may explain some variation in RJ process and outcomes hitherto ignored in existing research. I also suggest research on trauma in young people raises four areas of concern for thinking about RJ as a "trauma-informed" practice, including impacts of trauma and post-traumatic distress on (1) oral language proficiency and non-verbal communication; (2) the experience and expression of emotions; (3) offender perceptions of fairness and respect; and (4) difficulties in behavioural changes following participation in RJ meetings. I conclude with discussion of challenges to and suggestions for using RJ as a trauma-informed practice in youth justice settings.