Since the 2022 judicial reform, restorative justice has been permitted in Italy at every stage of the criminal proceedings and also after their conclusion. In the area of open prisons, the RI.RE. - Riparare Relazioni (Restoring Relationships) group has been in charge since 2021, in which convicts who are serving their sentences outside of the prison take part. The group meets once a week online and in person from time to time to deal with the topics of restorative justice and victim-offender mediation. The participants listen to reports from guests (mainly victims of crimes, offenders, judges, social workers, lawyers, etc.), read texts together, watch films, do various exercises, work in small groups, write autobiographical texts, etc. The principles of restorative justice apply within the group: participation is voluntary and the meetings are confidential. The group is considered a "safe space" in which the participants can present their view and experience of the crime and its consequences. The goals of the meetings are listening, changing perspectives, empathy, dealing with one's own crime and what happened, and thinking about making amends.
Antonella Valer, who I met during my training in Belgium on restorative justice in prisons run by the European Forum for Restorative Justice, invited me to speak to the RI.RE group about my work in prison based on my concept of "Survivor-Oriented Work in the Prison System (BoAS)". Our colleague Katja Holzner translated wonderfully from German to Italian and vice versa. The questions, stories and feedback (passion, satisfaction, gratitude, cooperation, encounters, humanity, lightness) from the participants on my report touched me deeply.
I am grateful that I was able to be a part of the group that evening!
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