ABSTRACT
Throughout history, tragedies involving terrorism, genocide, or politically-motivated actions have left countless survivors searching for justice and ways to cope with the complicated aftermath of these types of events. One value-based process utilizing a balanced approach to addressing the needs of all stakeholders who are involved in these tragedies-the victims, wrongdoers, and communitiesis restorative justice, “a broad term which encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violation of legal and human rights” (Center for Restorative Justice, 2014). While restorative justice originally provided those who caused a crime the opportunity to be accountable for their behavior (e.g., Eglash, 1977), restorative justice principles and restorative practices are now being used for a wide range of situations (Braithwaite, 2002; Van Ness, 2011; Walker, 2013), providing victims with support and giving them a voice to express their needs in a variety of social and cultural contexts (United Nations, 2006). According to Zehr (2013): “Those who have been harmed need to be able to grieve their losses, to be able to tell their stories, to have their questions answered-that is, to have the harms and needs caused by the offense addressed.” (p. 7) Restorative justice gives people opportunities to heal (Zehr, 2011).
