Multicultural Implications of Restorative Justice Potential pitfalls and dangers. Based on the research by Umbreit & Coates

The Office of Victims Advocates Victims decide whether or not to participate Both victim and offender must both be treated with respect

Victims are granted a choice in: Location Timing Structure of session A right to stop participating at any stage in the process

People from different cultures & world views have different ways of: Speaking behaving

Natural cultural differences can easily lead to: Misunderstandings Destroy the best efforts at conflict resolution End the hopes of restoring and repairing relationships

The key to progress in RJ is: Increased sensitivity to cross-cultural issues Dynamics that affect RJ programs

Often the cultural background of victim, offender and program staff member are different Great danger can occur with overgeneralizations

Proximity – comfortable with standing closer together: AfricansArabs Black AmericansSouth Americans IndonesiansThe French Latin Americans

Body Movements: Posture Smiling Eye contact Laughing Gestures And many others…..

Examples: Asians may by puzzled or offended by a White person who smiles or grimaces Whites may conclude that an Asian person has no emotion.

Eye contact American Indians: Disrespectful to look an elder or person of authority in the eye Blacks make more frequent eye contact when speaking than when listening Whites tend to make eye contact when listening than when speaking

Paralanguage Hesitations Inflections Silences Volume Pace of speaking

Silence To American Indian culture it is valued as sacred Each human must have the opportunity to: Reflect To translate into words Shape the words

What silence means to others: French = agreement Asian = token of respect or politeness Whites= time for them to talk

Volume Asians – speak softly Whites – founder than Asians Arabs – prefer higher volume

Density of language Blacks – sparse and concise Asians & American Indians – will use many more words to say the same thing

Other defining characteristics that can have an impact Race Socioeconomic status Ethnicity Gender Religion Sexual orientation Rural vs. urban residence

Characteristics of culturally skilled Restorative Justice Practitioners There are a total of five All are necessary for RJ

#1 CSRJ is aware and sensitive to his or her cultural heritage Values and respects differences in culture

#2 CSRJ is aware of their own values and biases

#3 CSRJ is comfortable with the differences that exist Between themselves and clients In terms of race & beliefs

#4 CSRJ is sensitive to circumstances that may dictate referral of a minority client to a member of their own race/culture Or to another CSRJ

#5 CSRJ acknowledges and is aware of their own racist attitudes, beliefs and feelings

Other things to remember: Do not make quick assumptions about others Look at the world through the eyes of another Listen to key informants

Meaningful mediation requires: Anticipating possible problems CSRJ may need to help other participants understand each other’s viewpoints Communication styles Prior to mediation session