Beyond the individual: the need for a structural restorative justice

Abstract

Abstract: The article “Beyond the Individual: The Need for a Structural Restorative Justice” offers a critical analysis of the individualist paradigm that predominates in contemporary restorative justice practices, which focus on direct and interpersonal violence while neglecting the structural and cultural dimensions of violence. Grounded in a theoretical-analytical and qualitative approach, the text articulates the contributions of Johan Galtung, Dyregrov, Ávila, and other authors from critical victimology, advocating for the adoption of the violence triangulation model (direct, structural, and cultural) as a conceptual basis for a structural form of restorative justice. This perspective expands the restorative process to encompass contexts of collective victimization — such as racism, sexism, LGBT-phobia, lethal violence, and environmental degradation — understood as systemic expressions of inequality. The article proposes the implementation of participatory methodologies, such as community conferences, peace circles, and quasi-restorative processes, capable of fostering integral reparations and institutional transformations. Structural restorative justice is presented as a democratizing social movement aimed at rebuilding community ties, preventing conflicts, and modifying the conditions that perpetuate violence. Finally, the text suggests the creation of autonomous, territorial, and intersectoral programs — such as “restorative cities” — that connect the ethical dimension of accountability with a political commitment to social justice and human security.