We need to have a different conversation about sexual violence and healing. This presentation will do that, going places some have never gone before. We make progress when we have difficult conversations. When it comes to sexual violence, it is important to address misconceptions that lead to stigmatization and negative stereotyping of those who commit the harm and those who are harmed.

Panelists

Alissa Ackerman, Ph.D.
(Read bio here)

Lara Bazelon
(Read bio here)

Seema Gajwani
(Read bio here)

Nuri Nusrat
(Read bio here)

Moderator

Danielle Cooper, Ph.D., CPP
(Read bio here)

Seema Gajwani will speak about the use of Restorative Justice in Washington DC to address serious, violent crime and bring about better outcomes for victims of crime and those who commit crime. Ms. Gajwani founded and runs the Restorative Justice Program housed within the Washington DC’s Office of the Attorney General. The program offers restorative justice as an alternative to traditional prosecution for victims of serious violent crime committed by juveniles in DC. The Program has had success at resolving cases in lieu of traditional prosecution and is expanding to adult crime and cases in a post adjudication status in the coming year. Ms. Gajwani will describe the details of restorative justice and how its use has been effective with serious crime in Washington, DC.

Speaker

Seema Gajwani
Special Council for Juvenile Justice Reform
Chief, Restorative Justice Section, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
(Read bio here)

Articles

The Hard Truths of Progressive Prosecution and a Path to Realizing the Movement's Promise (January 2020 - Restorative Justice: Changing the Lens)
(Read here)

Marlee identified as the receiver of harm from sexual violence. She chose restorative justice after finding the criminal legal system wanting. The criminal legal system asks what law has been broken, who broke it and what is the punishment. RJ asks what harm was done, who was harmed and how do we repair it. Let’s find out how Marlee thinks about healing, forgiveness, trauma, shame, stigma, and wellness.

Speaker

Marlee Liss ( www.MarleeLiss.com )
Restorative Justice Advocate
(Read bio here)

Moderator

Danielle Cooper, Ph.D., CPP
(Read bio here)

Co-Sponsor

Senator Gary Winfield
(Read bio here)

Presenters cover different aspects of sexual misconduct, including the impact of sexual assault, the needs of the person harmed, the design and results of using restorative justice resolution in prosecutor-referred cases of felony and misdemeanor sexual assault, and pertinent legal considerations. This presentation is directly relevant to legislators, the legal community, advocates for both people who were harmed and people who did the harm, professionals in sexual assault coalitions, schools, universities, forensic examiners and other healthcare professionals, and community partners. Less adversarial approaches as a response to sexual misconduct can enhance equity among parties and offer constructive community-based resolution.

"What we think we know about recidivism we probably don’t know… Many of the people are speaking without real facts."

- Senator Winfield

Speakers

Mary Koss, Ph.D.
(Read bio here)

Kate Chisholm, M.P.H., M.A.
(Read bio here)

Quince Hopkins, JD, LL.M, S.J.D.
(Read bio here)

Dr. Elise Lopez
(Read bio here)

Laura Sinko, Ph.D., R.N., CCTS-I
(Read bio here)

All people are different.

The restore program was successful in bringing survivor victims resolution… and as reflected in the t-shirt’s message is forward thinking: survivor victims do move on. The band-aid is symbolic of a small scar being left behind.

Slides

https://onestandardofjustice.org/Experience-from-Practicing-Restorative-Justice-for-Sexual-Harm.pdf

References

Mary Koss

Koss (2014) The RESTORE Program of Restorative Justice for Sex Crimes: Vision, Process, and Outcomes
https://onestandardofjustice.org/Koss-2014-The-RESTORE-Program.pdf

There's a Better Way to Get Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors
by Allana Vagianos

The criminal justice system is a pipeline, and it has leaks all along the way

- Dr. Mary Koss

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/theres-a-better-way-to-get-justice-for-sexual-assault-survivors_n_5f6e0673c5b61af20e74e24d

How 'Emancipatory Sex-Ed' Can Help Prevent Rape
By Sarah Treleaven

It doesn't fix the underlying problem of rape culture, but a made-in-Canada program is getting good results when it comes to reducing gender-based violence.

https://www.macleans.ca/education/how-emancipatory-sex-ed-can-help-prevent-rape/

Elise Lopez

The Gender Policy Report: Restorative Justice for Sexual Misconduct: Not if but When
https://genderpolicyreport.umn.edu/restorative-justice-for-sexual-misconduct-not-if-but-when/

Interested in RJ for campus sexual misconduct? Join our Campus PRISM Community of Practice:
https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/restorative-justice/campus-prism.php

C. Quince Hopkins

C. Quince Hopkins, JD, LLM, JSD "The Devil is in the Details: Constitutional and Other Legal Challenges Facing Restorative Justice Responses to Sexual Assault Cases," 50 (3) CRIMINAL LAW BULLETIN 1 (2014)

For anyone interested in our work in the Levitas Initiative at the University of Maryland School of Law and the School of Social Work, see:
https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Programs-and-Impact/Other-Initiatives/Erin-Levitas-Initiative/