Restorative Justice Workshops for Chinese Immigrant Adults
Many community members have shared with us that our current justice system is ineffective and does not adequately address victim healing. They are interested in hearing about different ways to address harm, but a major barrier to educating community members about alternatives, such as restorative justice, is the lack of in-language and culturally competent educational materials.
To address this gap, CCSJ worked with restorative justice practitioners to develop materials and a curriculum for a multi-part training for youth. CPA, who led the effort, then redeveloped the materials for a Cantonese-speaking audience, a large undertaking which involved exploring linguistic nuances and cultural resonances to make the restorative justice model accessible. CPA then held multiple training series for primarily Chinese-speaking immigrant adults to learn about the restorative justice model and skills for navigating conflict and taking accountability. Participants reported gaining conflict navigation skills, such as being better able to resolve conflicts with their children by taking an approach that prioritized empathy and connection.
These experiences have instilled a deeper understanding of the shortcomings of the punitive approach and hope that alternatives to addressing harm are possible. To our knowledge, this effort is one of the first restorative justice training programs for working class immigrants in Chinese.
Main Program Components
Multi-week training
The workshop series consisted of five to six sessions that were held once a week and lasted two to three hours each. The sessions included food and paid an attendance stipend.
Cultural relevance and accessibility
CPA staff found ways to bring concepts that Chinese immigrants may be more familiar with into the restorative justice curriculum. For example, many aspects of the restorative justice model have similarities with concepts in Chinese philosophy and Buddhism. Grounding restorative justice concepts in familiar ideas and perspectives made them easier to adopt. Furthermore, CPA’s expertise in the Chinese language allowed for translations of restorative justice concepts that were more meaningful and resonant, as opposed to using direct translations that can feel awkward.
Storytelling to build empathy
Stories of other people’s experiences were effective in helping participants understand other people’s points of view. For example, one participant recounted an impactful story they heard in the workshop about a Black youth who was discriminated against and accused of shoplifting in a grocery store when he had actually paid. The story helped the participant see how these experiences of discrimination could have negative impacts on people’s well-being.
Self-reflection exercises
Self-reflection exercises helped participants grapple with restorative justice concepts and the real-life barriers to adopting them. One exercise asked participants to write a letter to themselves to forgive past mistakes. This helped participants practice compassion and having curiosity about the root causes of mistakes. Participants were able to reflect on how they blamed themselves for mistakes and how the blame mindset affected how they responded to their children.
Self-reflection exercises
The curriculum tackled the thorny topics of racism and the biases we hold by weaving them into the broader themes of forgiveness, healing, and root causes of conflict. For example, participants discussed an incident where a police officer accidentally killed a young man, based on a real incident of Peter Liang, a Chinese police officer, who accidentally killed Akai Gurley, a young Black man. Participants at first supported accountability, but when the race of the office was revealed to be Chinese, they wished the officer could be given the same chance at forgiveness as a white officer. The contradictions allowed participants to explore their willingness to punish versus forgive in response to different racial contexts. Participants recognized their own biases, which opened further conversation about opportunities for reconciliation and healing through community accountability.
Keys to Success
Iteration to improve linguistic and cultural competency
Since this program is one of the first to create a culturally and linguistically competent restorative justice curriculum for working class Chinese immigrants, workshop organizers needed time to build their capacity. The first iteration of the training series had an English-speaking restorative justice practitioner lead the workshops, with simultaneous translation. After staff became more familiar with the curriculum and the restorative justice model, Chinese-speaking staff were able to deliver the workshops themselves. Conducting workshops in attendees’ most comfortable language reduced translation gaps and increased real-time responsiveness of workshop leaders.
Familiarity and trust
The restorative justice training touched on many emotionally difficult topics that required attendees to be vulnerable in order to experience the full impact. Participants already had familiarity with each other because they were recruited from CPA’s adult membership. Their common connection to CPA’s tenant and worker organizing work also established a baseline level of trust. Workshop organizers would have needed to include more community-building activities if participants came in with fewer connections to one another.
Relatable contexts and examples
The workshops drew on relatable examples to explore conflict and the restorative justice model. For example, many of the participants were parents and experienced difficulties communicating with their children. Through the training and self-reflection exercises, some parents were able to apply restorative justice concepts to conflicts with their children. Instead of taking more punitive approaches, which might cause resentment and resistance, one parent successfully focused on the root causes of their child’s behavior and gently helped them take responsibility for their own actions.
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