The struggle between compassion and retribution is a familiar one. Many find it difficult to abandon the Old Testament adage about “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Getting even or making someone pay for real or imagined offenses justifies a broad range of behaviors that include corporal punishment of children and harsh imprisonment of those who break the law.
In sharp contrast to this perception of justice are restorative practices employed by the Association Modeste et Innocent (AMI), a non-profit organization working in Rwanda to repair relationships between the Hutus and Tutsis. Two decades after the conflict between these tribes killed nearly a million people, counselors work with perpetrators and survivors to forge new bonds of forgiveness and community.
Closer to home, the organization Parenting Beyond Punishment encourages caregivers to take a restorative approach to child rearing. Information provided through its Stop the Spanking Challenge helps readers move beyond corporal punishment to new ways of helping children regulate their feelings and behavior.
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