Restorative Justice and a Path Forward
Guest speaker on the Monthly Membership call (6/3/2021) was Dr. Alissa R. Ackerman, Assistant Professor in the Division of Politics, Administration and Justice at California State University, Fullerton. You can hear the entire presentation here.
Dr. Ackerman is internationally recognized for her contributions in the field and her innovative approach that has helped hundreds of people on their path towards healing. She has dedicated her career to studying sex crimes policy and practice, the etiology of sexual offending, the effects of sexual victimization, and, more recently, restorative justice options for those impacted by sexual harm. She is a “survivor scholar”, in that she integrates her personal experience with sexual violence with her professional expertise as a sex crimes researcher.
Dr Ackerman has worked with over 500 men and women who have perpetrated acts of sexual harm using vicarious restorative justice processes and serves a restorative justice practitioner in traditional restorative justice cases involving sexual harm in the community.
She has written extensively on topics related to sexual violence in blogs and magazine articles and has published over 35 peer-reviewed journal articles. She has authored or edited six books and recently served as co-editor on a special edition of the Journal of Sexual Abuse. Her most recent book, Healing from Sexual Violence: The Case for Vicarious Restorative Justice, co-authored with Dr. Jill Levenson, was published in 2019.
Dr Ackerman has worked across North America, Australia, and New Zealand. She has given over fifty national and international talks on her sex crimes work including a TED Talk on The Importance of Connection.
She co-hosts the popular podcast, Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast
Alissa R. Ackerman, PhD
Pronouns: she/her/hers (why pronouns matter)
Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast
Excellent call!! Thank you so much to Dr. Ackerman for taking the time.
Crime and punishment is very interesting in this sex ordeal issue of restorative justice or any type of justice at all. While I have written an email to Dr. Ackerman a few days ago one has to wonder What is restorative Justice? or for that matter what is punishment, whether its punitive or retroactive. Is it a stay in detention hall the rest of one’s life after prison if thats the case or who make false and liable accusations, or present a slanderous scheme of lifetime lockdown or rights, responsiblities, or anything else to the persuit of happiness in this stumbling block affair.
Even one’s rights in many ways are in jeapordy. Who is taking a look today at the Declaration of Independence or are “We the People” or court systems….. Toilet tissue today?
Sure harming someone, one can be liable for that actions but in much of this sex registry who is liable by deceptive means? Should one get examples. Believe it or not one can fine many examples in the bible or wasn’t the Old Testament our school teacher, or do many cast stones today in a court of justice?
Sure sex is sex any way one slices it whether its harming another or one is getting caught up in a sting type operation as Ms. Ackerman mentioned. Yes I’m for restorative justice and I’m also for a Journey for Jesus or some refreshing. Yes many government branches should understand that also when they go to judge or who judges another.
Nothing wrong with refreshing Justice, or is Criminal Justice perfect, or is the two-edged sword of justice a bit better. So whos’ conscious is convicting who. Many times its best to leave matters alone and let the advocates handle things or are governments going a bit too far in many of these ordeals of this sex type nature on their own fellow human beings or did Cain actually kill Able or did Samson commit adultry or is this computer in many ways the nature of the beast in much of this complex and deceptive way.