By Julie Clark, Head of Service for Restorative Justice
It was my honour to sit alongside host Kate Packenham, Nick Dawson and Michael Palin to explore “The promise of restorative justice” during the post-performance conversation of PUNCH this evening. We heard from Nick, who shared his moving experience of how RJ helped him to move forward years after his twin brother was murdered. He began considering RJ after seeing his brother’s killer at a parole hearing, which really brought to life the human element of participating in a restorative process. Michael, shared his journey of becoming involved with The Longford Trust, which led to meeting Jacob Dunne and becoming a patron for RJ providers Remedi, who facilitated Joan and David’s restorative process.
Restorative Justice may not be right for everyone – but it’s everyone’s right to explore if it’s right for them. . – Julie Clark, Calm Mediation
L-R: Kate Packenham (Director of KPPL Productions), Julie Clark (Head of Service for RJ at Calm Mediation), Nick Dawson (Author of Face to Face, Finding Justice for my Murdered Twin Brother and Ambassador at Why Me?), Michael Palin (Actor, Patron at Remedi)
The post-show conversations have been running weekly, with an impressive 80% of the audience staying to hear a diverse range of voices discussing topics including intergenerational trauma, masculinity and of course, restorative justice. By the end of it’s UK run, PUNCH will have reached audience numbers in excess of 100,000, with the vast majority being in London. If you are one of those, I encourage you to take the conversation home, to work, everywhere! As I shared on the panel, this is the closest we have come to a national awareness campaign, and we need to keep the conversation going!
Collaboration for change
Alongside our collaboration with The Apollo theatre and The Forgiveness Project who worked tirelessly to ensure the post-show discussions were a success, we are working with The Common Ground Justice Project, Why Me? and MP Paul Kohler to table an amendment to The Victims Code. The proposal aims to strengthen the offer of RJ to be more meaningful, by way of gaining consent for victims to be contacted directly by their locally commissioned RJ Service. Research shows that when the initial conversation is facilitated by an RJ professional, the message has much more clarity and meaning, empowering people with the information they need to decide if RJ is right for them. The proposal also requires the Secretary of State to assess how often restorative justice services are used, reporting uptake and recommending how to increase usage. This will be a huge step forward for RJ providers nationally, with stakeholders and statutory partner agencies working together to ensure we uphold victims’ rights to access the support they need at the time they need it. As we shared on the panel – RJ is not right for everyone, but it’s everyone’s right to explore if it’s right for them. In fact, the European Forum for Restorative Justice this week launched a campaign to recognise restorative justice as a human right.
Working together to raise awareness
As if all of this amazing work isn’t enough to celebrate, the general feeling of togetherness within the RJ community, all working together to raise awareness of RJ nationally and drive change, is quite something to behold. We spoke about it in the Gold Room at the theatre and we all feel it. Long may it last – and to quote the Restorative Justice Council – together we are stronger.
All in all, PUNCH has been a phenomenal success in bringing the RJ conversation to the mainstream though its narrative and wider outreach work. As the hashtag claims – #MoreThanAPlay – PUNCH is proving to be a tool for social and societal change.
