The store robbery that Belinda experienced has had a great impact on her life ever since. It even led to physical issues. Now that she has had a conversation with the perpetrator, her life has changed a lot. “I’m very happy I did it. A lot of fear got lifted from my shoulders.”
“Being a perpetrator doesn’t mean that person is completely evil. That’s true for me as well. I regret the robberies that I committed. I wanted to get in contact with the victims to tell them how I ended up in the criminal circuit.” Jordi (27) talks about his experience with restorative mediation.
At first, Evi didn’t want to invest any more energy into the robbery that happened at the drug store she had been a manager at for years. But then her motherly heart got in the mix. 'I hoped I could contribute to a better life for him.' She’s also happy for herself that she agreed to a mediation.
A fight in a local pub escalates. Martijn stabs Gerard in the stomach with a large knife. Martijn is sentenced to four years, and spends two years and eight months in prison. Years later, Martijn en Gerard meet up to talk. Gerard: “I had to get rid of that feeling somehow. Of constantly being angry.”
Gwen was robbed in her home and threatened with a knife. After the perpetrator was arrested, Gwen got a call from a mediator from Perspectief. The perpetrator wanted to talk with her. Together with the mediator, Gwen visited him in the youth prison.
Frans is in Leeuwarden prison for assault and making threats. He’ll be getting out soon. Not that long ago, he spoke to a mediator from Perspectief at a reintegration market. He took a folder, which skimmed once. Could this be something for him?
Already during his prison sentence, Ata wanted to apologize to the victims of the fire he started in asylum seekers center. After he got out, a probation worker applied for him at Perspectief Herstelbemiddeling. What followed was a special conversation between victim and offender.
After her brother Fred is killed by his partner, Els feels the need to get in contact with the perpetrator. Through Perspectief, Els talks to him in prison. From that moment, Els knows that forgiveness is the way to go for her.
Almost seven years ago, Daphne’s ex-partner stabbed her. In the Magazine for Restorative Justice (Tijdschrift voor Herstelrecht) in an issue themed around forgiveness, Daphne talks about her process. “I’ve only now started to be angry. And I like it.”
After Melissa was involved in a robbery at a supermarket, the perpetrator asked to get in contact with her through Perspectief. A few weeks later, Melissa can look the robber in the eyes. “There was a completely different man in front of me.”
