Responsibility and Equity for Sexual Transgressions Offering a Restorative Experience (RESTORE)

Survivors and responsible people who participate in the Responsibility and Equity for Sexual Transgressions Offering a Restorative Experience (RESTORE) programme engage in dialogue regarding the sexual offense and its impact, and come to a consensus on a redress plan that leads to the responsible person's commitment to action that addresses the situation and fosters remorse and acceptance of responsibility. RESTORE uses community conferencing to bring together survivors of sexual offenses and those responsible for committing those offenses, along with their families and supporters. Engaging both the responsible person's social networks aims to lessen the chance of re-offending. Survivors voice the harm done by the responsible person (offender) and devise a plan for repairing that harm. The aim of the programme is to treat survivors with respect and validate survivors of crime, while giving them a safe process for justice and empowering them to shape a resolution. At the same time the process aims to hold the responsible person accountable for the crime committed against the survivor as well as provide a way to repair the harm they have caused, while increasing community involvement in reducing crime.

The RESTORE programme consists of four stages.

• In the first stage, the survivor reports the offense to law enforcement who take the report, investigate and collect forensic evidence. Survivors are offered the opportunity to participate in the RESTORE programme, and if they choose this option, the responsible person is also offered this choice.
• In the second stage, all participants meet with the case manager to prepare for the conference.
• The third stage includes the conference. A conference facilitator convenes the conference in a secure location with the survivor, responsible person, their support networks, a case manager, a member of the evaluation team, and a small number of observers (stakeholders in building the RESTORE Programme) who may wish to be present. At the conference, the responsible person acknowledges the harm caused by his/her actions. The survivor describes the impact of the act. Both the survivor’s and the responsible person's support network may speak about the impact of the act on them. The responsible person then acknowledges and responds to what was said. Together, the conference participants develop the Redress Agreement.
• The fourth stage is the twelve-month period following the conference. In these months the responsible person follows through with the redress agreement, undergoes treatments and attends regular meetings with RESPONSE programme personel. During these months, the survivor is provided quarterly progress reports and he/she is invited to any meeting at which the responsible person is appearing. Finally, with the successful completion of the Redress Agreement and twelve months of supervision, the responsible person appears before the Community Accountability and Reintegration Board with his/her support network, if desired, for reintegration into the community and closure. If a formal apology has been requested by the survivor, it would be made at this time. The survivor is invited to attend with his/her support network. This concludes the programme.

According to the programme organisers, survivors who participate in the traditional system of justice may feel that their stories could not be told or that the process of proceeding through the court eliminated their voice. With RESTORE, the survivor's story is central to the process, and the survivor's desires are met through the plan made for restitution. For the responsible person, the traditional system of justice enables them to deny their actions and responsibility for the harm they have done. If fines or time in prison are mandated, the responsible person may still be encouraged to deny responsibility in the interest of the appeal process. In RESTORE, the responsible person admits that he/she committed a violating act, and that the act caused harm. With this admission comes an opportunity for rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. The act is separated from the person committing the act, facilitating an opportunity for a fresh start while fulfilling the obligation to “make it right” with the Survivor and his/her community.

Rights

Responsible Persons eligible for RESTORE are first-time perpetrators of acquaintance rape committed with minimal force, or those committing non-perpetration offenses. Responsible Persons must acknowledge that a violating act occurred, and that they are responsible for having committed that act. The Survivor(s) of that act must be willing to participate in RESTORE for the offense to be considered for the RESTORE process.