Improving public health by the implementation of a restorative approach to transgressive behavior

Transgressive behavior is a widespread issue in the Kingdom, also on the Windward Islands. This project explores an alternative approach: Emotion Focused Mediation (EFM). The focus is on identifying, discussing and addressing the patterns behind transgressive behavior in families, workplaces and public spaces. The restorative approach understands violence as a systemic issue, requiring an integrated, systemic and relationship-centered response. Caribbean and Dutch professionals will collaborate closely, using existing and new insights from practice to further develop and contextualize the method to their respective needs and realities.

Goal

The overall goal is to increase understanding of destructive behavior patterns and prevent the recurrence of such patterns, and reduce the reliance on social, legal, and healthcare service through: (1) promoting and applying a restorative, emotion-focused, attachment-informed, and systemic approach to transgressive behavior across key sectors; (2) implement, evaluate, and contextualize the evolving Emotion Focused Mediation (EFM) method through 10 restorative interventions; and (3) capacity-sharing through training and development of a field guide.

Approach

The project approach is a participatory design research, carried out in collaboration with trained mediators and their participants/clients. The core components are:

1.  Training and further education of professionals (experiential learning);
2. Mediating cases together with trainers (co-learning);
3. Group supervision and peer-to-peer intervision;
4. Knowledge  -and experience sharing through follow-up sessions and an online community;
5. Articles in Tijdschrift voor Conflicthantering, Tijdschrift voor Herstelrecht, Nederlandse Mediation, and others;
6. Book: Field Guide for Restorative Practices;
7. Educational product: adapted EFM-Caribbean reader (Dutch/English);
8. Website (in development).
    

Collaborators

Restorative Practitioners International (based in St. Maarten) is the lead organization and implements the program using a multi-disciplinary, bottom-up approach. Government agencies (e.g. Ministry of Justice and Ministry of VSA) and private institutions are key partners in training their professionals and applying the approach both with the groups they service and within their own personnel organizations.
Equally central are the individuals who previously have participated, or will participate during this project, in the restorative interventions. Their willingness to engage with trained facilitators and take part in the upcoming ten interventions makes them essential partners in both the development and evaluation of the approach.

Expected results

The project aims to: 

1.  training 30 professionals in restorative practices (4-day training) and involving them in 10 interventions;
2. grow the existing pool of facilitators who can be deployed throughout the region in cases of transgressive behavior;
3. to carry out and evaluate 10 cases across the SSS islands, addressing issues such as domestic violence, multi-problem families, code of conduct violations or other forms of transgressive behavior;
4. develop a bilingual Field Guide for Restorative Practices, proposing a standardized approach for the social domain;
5. initiate research and validation of the Emotion Focused Mediation (EFM) method;
6. identify contextual and cultural markers for adapting EFM.