Understanding Transformative Justice

Transformative justice seeks to respond to harms, violence, and conflicts by addressing the individual, relational, institutional, and structural conditions that allow them to arise.

Transformative justice is an approach that seeks to respond to harms while transforming the conditions that made them possible. It is grounded in the understanding that violence and conflicts do not stem solely from individual actions, but are rooted in social, economic, cultural, political, and institutional contexts that contribute to their emergence and reproduction.

In this perspective, transformative justice seeks to support affected individuals, encourage accountability for those who caused harm, and mobilize communities so they can actively participate in preventing future violence. Its scope goes beyond repairing the consequences of harm: it also strives to transform the social relations, norms, institutions, and structures that make such violence possible.

Rather than relying exclusively on judicial institutions to manage conflicts, transformative justice encourages communities to develop their collective capacity to prevent, recognize, and address situations of violence, exclusion, and injustice. It views communities as essential actors of social transformation, capable of building collective responses based on responsibility, mutual support, and lasting change.

Transformative justice draws its roots from several traditions of community justice, collective conflict resolution, and social movements committed to dismantling oppression.

It developed notably throughout the 1990s and 2000s within feminist, abolitionist, anti-racist, queer, and Indigenous movements.

These movements highlighted that certain forms of violence are linked to broader social structures, such as racism, colonialism, sexism, poverty, or social exclusion. Transformative justice was born out of the determination to address both the immediate harms and these systemic root causes simultaneously.

Transformative justice is intended for any individual, group, or community affected by situations of violence, injustice, exclusion, or conflict.
It can involve:

• People who have experienced harm;
• People who have caused harm;
• Loved ones and family members;
• Affected groups or communities;
• Organizations and institutions dealing with problematic dynamics;
• Anyone wishing to participate in creating more just and safer environments.

• Meeting the needs of affected individuals;
• Fostering accountability for those who have caused harm;
• Preventing the recurrence of violence;
• Strengthening community capacity to manage conflicts;
• Transforming the conditions that enable harms;
• Reducing inequalities and exclusions;
• Developing more just and safer relationships;
• Promoting lasting changes at individual, relational, institutional, and social levels.

Every transformative justice process is unique. The sought after transformations can take place across multiple levels:

• Personal: awareness, behavioral change, development of new relational skills;
• Relational: improving communication, rebuilding trust, transforming power dynamics;
• Community: creating support, prevention, and mutual aid mechanisms;
• Organizational: reviewing policies, practices, or procedures;
• Cultural: challenging norms that foster certain forms of violence or exclusion;
• Structural: taking action on social, economic, or institutional inequalities.

Transformative justice can be mobilized in numerous contexts:

• Sexual violence;
• Domestic, family, or gender-based violence;
• Situations of harassment;
• Community conflicts;
• Situations of discrimination, racism, or other forms of oppression;
• Institutional violence;
• Digital violence.

It can also be implemented in various environments, including schools, workplaces, or communities facing situations of social polarization, as well as with historically marginalized groups.

• Voluntary participation: The individuals or groups involved freely choose to take part in the process and may withdraw at any time.
• Respect and dignity: Every person is welcomed with respect, regardless of their role, history, or lived experience.
• Safety: The process is carefully prepared so that participants can engage under conditions that foster their physical, psychological, cultural, and emotional safety.
• Listening and dialogue: Exchanges aim to promote mutual understanding, the expression of lived experiences, and the recognition of everyone's needs.
• Support for affected individuals: The needs, choices, and agency of people who have experienced harm remain at the heart of the process.
• Accountability without shaming: People who caused harm are invited to recognize the consequences of their actions, assume their responsibilities, and actively participate in necessary changes, without being reduced to their gestures.
• Community mobilization: Loved ones, communities, or relevant institutions are called upon to contribute to understanding situations, supporting individuals, and preventing future violence.
• Analysis of power dynamics and structural causes: The process recognizes that violence is often rooted in social, economic, cultural, institutional, or historical inequalities. It seeks to act on these conditions rather than solely addressing the consequences of harm.
• Pursuit of tailored solutions: There is no single response. Actions are developed collectively according to the context, the needs of the individuals involved, and the desired changes.
• Learning, transformation, and prevention: Each process aims not only to respond to harm, but also to strengthen individual and collective capacities to prevent violence, transform relationships, and encourage lasting change.

Transformative justice can take various forms depending on needs, participants, and context.

It can notably translate into:

1. Dialogue and accountability circles
   Spaces allowing affected parties to explore the consequences of harm, recognize individual, collective, and systemic responsibilities, and build pathways toward change.
2. Community support networks
   The mobilization of loved ones, community members, or resource persons to accompany affected individuals, support those working on accountability, and foster lasting change.
3. Collective conflict resolution processes
   Initiatives involving multiple individuals or groups to address complex conflicts, restore relationships, and strengthen collective capacity to prevent new situations of violence.
4. Institutional transformation processes
   Reviewing organizational practices, policies, or institutional cultures to prevent violence.
5. Popular education and civic mobilization initiatives
   Awareness, training, and collective action activities aimed at transforming social norms.

* We consulted Mylène Jaccoud for the development of this page, drafted in August 2026. Mylène Jaccoud is a Full Professor of Criminology at Université de Montréal, a specialist in restorative justice, mediation, Indigenous peoples, criminological theories, and qualitative methods, as well as a longtime collaborator of the CSJR. We would like to thank her for her help and expertise.

Transformative justice encounters allow affected individuals to explore the consequences of harm, recognize individual, collective, and systemic responsibilities, and build pathways toward change.