Restorative Justice: A Bridge Between East and West

Source: (2008) In Katherine Van Wormer, Restorative Justice Across the East and the West. Manchester, UK: Casa Verde Publishing. Pp. 1-9.

“The purpose of this book is twofold. The first and primary purpose is to introduce readers to restorative justice as a form of conflict resolution with practical applications for work with individuals as victims or offenders. Advocacy for social policy change in the criminal justice system is a second part of this mission: the goal here is to ensure that the interests of victims are met and that offenders, where appropriate, have the option of making restitution. The second major goal in assembling this collection is to propose restorative justice as a bridge between East and West, as a force that can transcend cultural and religious differences. The values on which restorative justice is based are universal even as the principles of social work, the helping profession, are universal. Studying restorative strategies across various levels of society and cross-culturally holds promise for a coming together of social work East and West.” (abstract)