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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK
HISTORY OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK
Originally called "Prisoner's Sunday", the event has its roots in prison chaplaincies. It began in England in 1975 on the third Sunday of the month of November as a day on which Christian believers would pray for and show compassion towards prisoners and their families. In 1995, the day was extended to a week called, “Prisoner’s Week” during which several activities geared towards prisoners and their families would be undertaken. However, in 1996, with the growing interest in restorative justice, the name of the event was changed to “Restorative Justice Week” to reflect the need to also focus on victims, ex-prisoners, their respective families and the community in which they all resided.In Canada, Restorative Justice Week became a national event by decision of the Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy, within the Correctional Service of Canada's Chaplaincy Division. Each year, the Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy decides upon a theme to be observed in commemoration of International Restorative Justice Week during the third week of November. Starting from a primarily Christian focus, Restorative Justice Week now reaches out to members of all faiths, as well as to secular audiences. The scope of the week has also broadened to encompass all who are affected by crime - victims and their families, offenders and their families, criminal justice officials and the entire community.
CURB AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK
Since our formation in 2005, CURB has observed Restorative Justice Week in the month of November in much the same manner as our prison ministry and restorative justice counterparts around the world. Two of our Directors were involved in the first ever observance of Restorative Justice Week in Trinidad and Tobago in 2003.CURB appreciates that the themes selected by the Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy within the Correctional Service of Canada are more appropriate to that nation's history with restorative justice than to the Caribbean where restorative justice is still in its infancy. For that reason, CURB has consistently selected themes for Restorative Justice Week each year which are relevant to the Caribbean experience. A synopsis of each is below.
Moved by the Lord to do more for the victims of crime and the children of our nation, CURB formed the CURB Restorative Justice (RJ) Fund to commemorate Restorative Justice Week 2005. The theme of the RJ Fund is "Saving the Next Generation" and it focuses on providing practical support for families in need, especially those with children who have lost a parent to homicide or have been victims of crime.
Apart from the launch of the RJ Fund, CURB Director, Adrian Alexander, commemorated Restorative Justice Week 2005 with a visit to the Laventille Girls Government Primary School on the invitation of Marian Taylor - a school social worker. There, Mr. Alexander was treated to a display of poetry and recitation on the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation by Standard Three students as they shared their understanding of restorative justice. Afterwards, he was able to share with students and teachers the ways in which they could implement restorative initiatives in their school which is situated in a district with one of the highest murder rates in the nation. Mr. Alexander was amazed to learn of the large number of students there who had lost a loved one to homicide.
Photographs of Restorative Justice Week activities at Laventille Girls Government Primary School are available here.
CURB utilised Restorative Justice Week 2006 to host its formal launch on Monday 13th November 2006 at the Port of Spain City Hall in Trinidad. The Honourable Anthony Roberts, Minister of Social Development, attended and delivered the Feature Address at the event. A copy of his speech is is available from the RJ Week 2006 Archives.
Among the events for Restorative Justice Week were the hosting of the nation's first Restorative Justice Exhibition which was also held on Monday 13th November 2006 at the Port of Spain City Hall in Trinidad. In preparation for the event, CURB developed a series of brochures about CURB, the Restorative Justice Fund, Restorative Justice and Balanced Restorative Justice. All of the brochures are available from our Brochure Archives.
CURB also convened the First National Stakeholders Consultation on Transitional Accommodation for Ex-Prisoners on Friday 17th November, 2006. We were pleased to have Mrs. Jacinta Bailey-Sobers, then Chief Technical Officer of the Ministry of Social Development, attend and deliver the Feature Address at the Consultation which was convened at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca. A copy of Mrs. Sobers' speech is available from the RJ Week 2006 Archives.
Photographs of the activities from Restorative Justice Week 2006 are available here.
In 2007 CURB tackled the 'taboo' subject of prison sexual assault which is an experience capable of adversely affecting an ex-prisoner's ability to successfully re-integrate into society. CURB sought to make the point that sexual and other abuses of prisoners are NOT part of the sentence imposed by any Court and therefore must be eliminated. We also educated the public about the problem and consequences of prisoner abuse through editorial letters, press releases and the distribution of Stop Prison Rape brochures and multimedia. All of these publications and resources are available online from our RJ Week 2007 Archives.
Apart from international agencies such as Stop Prisoner Rape (now called Just Detention International), in the USA and Survivors Swindon in the UK, CURB collaborated with the members of the Council of Prison Chaplains and Ministers (COPCAM), the Rape Crisis Society, Dolly & Associates Limited and other local agencies to provide support and resources for prisoners and ex-prisoners who are victimised through sexual assault while in custody.
The main activity for RJ Week 2007 was the hosting by CURB of an intensive 5-day training programme at the Church On The Rock (Morvant Open Bible Church), Corner Lady Young Road and Caledonia Road, Morvant to equip persons to effectively counsel both survivors and perpetrators of sexual assault. For further information about this landmark training opportunity, please Download the Training Flier.
CURB's commitment to fully ventilate all issues in relation to the abuse of prisoners has led us to seek funding approval from various government ministries to conduct in-depth analysis and develop comprehensive approaches to eradicate prison sex abuse in Trinidad and Tobago. We have also set up a dedicated website geared towards eliminating the causes of prison abuse in the Caribbean region. To follow the work of CURB and the growing coalition of Caribbean organisations concerned about ending all abuses of prisoners, please visit our new website - Stop Prison Abuse.
RJ Week 2007 was preceded by and concluded with landmark radio interviews on ISAAC 98.1 FM. For audio files of these interviews including testimonies of prison sexual assault please visit the Resources Page of Stop Prison Abuse.
Please Click Here for a Review of Restorative Justice Week 2007.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted in custody and want to boldly OR anonymously share your story please write to us at P.O. Box 4945, Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago, email us at info@stopprisonabuse.com or call us at (868) 755-9906.
Photographs of the activities from Restorative Justice Week 2007 are available here.