Addressing Bullying through Restorative Justice
Morrison, Brenda, “Restorative Justice and School Violence: Building Theory and Practice,” Restorative Practices E-Forum (2001).
This paper was presented at the UNESCO International Conference on Violence in Schools and Public Policies in March 2001. The paper focuses on developments in the practice of restorative justice and how such principles can be applied when targeting school violence — namely school bullying. Morrison notes that evidence shows that those who bully are more likely to drop out of school and the victims of bullying may suffer from stress, anxiety or depression. Morrison describes how through the application of restorative justice principles, both compassion and accountability may be effectively incorporated into the sanctions imposed when dealing with instances of bullying. The paper develops a theoretical framework through which to understand the problem of bullying by identifying different theoretical perspectives relating to such behavior, namely social identity and re–integrative shaming theory. Morrison discusses how schools and the community are effective and important players in the context of these theories with respect to the regulation of certain social behavior which may lead to bullying. This chapter identifies and discusses the importance of social relationships to the well–being of individuals, which is also the central tenet of restorative justice.
Relevant Link: http://www.realjustice.org/library/morrison_bullying.html