Restorative justice is a justice approach that focuses on repairing the harm caused by the crime by holding the adolescents who committed an offence accountable. The objective is to enable healing, reparation, reintegration, as well as to prevent further harm.
Citizens living in the territory of the City of Gatineau have access to a mediation service that allows people living in conflict in their neighbourhood to call on the expertise of volunteer mediators to support them in resolving the conflict.
Alternative Outaouais contributes to crime prevention through community awareness and prevention activities
« The aim is not to punish, treat or protect, but rather to create conditions for a reasonable remedy and/or compensation for harm to be achieved.»
Our approach is based on restorative justice and our interventions focus on the notion of reparation for the harm caused by the crime and the restoration of the state of well-being that existed before the commission of the crime. In alternative justice, the problem posed by an offence is considered from the angle of the harm it caused and not only from the angle of the transgression of a law. The goal is not to punish, treat or protect, but to allow for healing, reparation, reintegration, and to prevent further harm. Thus, the victim and the community are directly involved in the process. They are offered to express themselves in relation to what they have experienced, what they feel and what they want as reparation.
Are you interested in social involvement in your community and would you like to receive information to become a volunteer mediator? Click here to know our service
You are a community organization, you are committed to the social reintegration of youths and you need a helping hand from volunteers? Click here to learn more about host organizations.