Giustizia riparativa e lavoro sociale

Restorative justice (RJ) is an approach that complements the traditional criminal justice system, placing specific emphasis on repairing the harm caused by a crime and involving all parties (offender, victim, and, where applicable, the community) in resolving the resulting problems. Given its guiding principles, RJ also has clear social relevance, as it promotes practices aimed at preventing and/or managing conflicts that can shape a context and fosters processes in which citizens and communities assume responsibility for addressing such situations. With the Cartabia Reform of 2022, RJ received full and definitive formal recognition in Italy. To date, however, this reform has not only failed to boost the development of RJ programs but, on the contrary, has led to the interruption of many of those already in place. The essay, after a brief overview of RJ practices active in Italy until the recent past, illustrates the adverse effects the Cartabia Reform had on them. Subsequently, the points of contact between RJ and social work are presented and discussed, the convergences that characterize the principles and techniques of each, as well as the potential that the RJ paradigm opens up for a new way of training social workers.