Non-encounter restorative justice interventions – now what?

ABSTRACT The ‘encounter conception’ of restorative justice is definitively the most widespread of all, and practices that involve an encounter may well deserve to be called ‘fully restorative’. That said, an encounter between an individual, identifiable ‘victim’ and an equally individual, identifiable ‘offender’ is not always possible (or desirable). Indeed, an encounter conception of restorative justice is problematic for a variety of reasons, including for attaching people to distinct labels – those of ‘offender’ and ‘victim’ – when only a few have the ‘paradoxical privilege’ to be recognised as victims. This article is aimed at promoting an exercise of thinking beyond an encounter conception of restorative justice. We would like to argue that such an exercise facilitates the processes of us rethinking the current language of restorative justice (still too restricted compared to the current criminal justice system). It also helps us to acknowledge the movement’s wide-ranging agendas or directions (and to position ourselves within them).