Just Justice Talk

The third and latest instalment of the Just Justice Talk (JJT) series, jointly hosted by the Governors State University from Chicago and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, concluded on a positive note on 9 June 2021!

This year, the event welcomed Fernanda Carvalho Dias de Oliveira Silva, a fresh graduate from the University of São Paulo to share how Restorative Justice (RJ) is being practised in Brazil with an empirical approach, offering eye-opening insights to the audience of the two different perspectives of RJ prevailing in that country:

According to the official narrative on the origin of RJ in Brazil, it was influenced by international ideas. The folk narrative, on the other hand, purported that the beginnings of RJ was developed organically within Brazil, hence is particularly noteworthy for having integrated into the community itself, prior to the official partnership between the United Nations and the local Brazilian authorities. However, the folk narrative of RJ remains relatively unrecognised due to biased authorships of existing literature on RJ in Brazil.

More research has to be conducted to refine our understanding of theories and practices of RJ in Brazil, in order to mitigate issues arising from the disparities between these theories and practices of RJ, shared Fenanda. 

The talk also depicted how RJ can vary widely in terms of its characteristics and understanding, where the participants had an engaging discussion of how these theories and practices of RJ can be more closely aligned to real-world examples from their respective countries.

"The balance between Restorative Justice and Retributive Justice is constantly sought after, and while punishment has to be accorded for crimes committed, RJ, which offers better healing to all involved parties and potentially lowers re-offending rates, must be considered," offered Fernanda.

If you are keen to participate in the fourth and final instalment of the JJT series, stay tuned for details sent out via our upcoming email invitation!