Justiça restaurativa em Fortaleza: possíveis caminhos para a discussão de sua importância como política pública

Abstract

Violence against youth has been a persistent problem in the state of Ceará. Both in schools and in society as a whole, notorious episodes of violence committed by young people or against young people draw attention to a social problem whose roots are rarely prioritized in the formulation of public policies. This work analyzes Restorative Justice as a new approach to dealing with conflicts and situations of violence between young people both in schools and in the context of justice for young offenders, in order to contribute to its implementation as a public policy. This study presents some data and history of violence involving young people in Brazil and the state of Ceará, as well as some examples of public policies that aimed to combat the situation of violence in the state, classified as epidemic, focusing on the presentation of Restorative Justice and its importance for dealing with conflicts and violence more effectively and, to illustrate the possibilities of implementing this alternative method of penal correction, two examples of restorative practices are presented that have given good results in the way of dealing with conflicts and violence. In the judicial sphere, through the experiment at the Restorative Justice Center for young offenders; and within the educational system, through Peacebuilding Circles projects in some schools, the result of a partnership between the Terre Des Hommes Civil Society Organization and the Ceará State Department of Education. To this end, this research adopts a qualitative methodology, through the exposure of ideas about Restorative Justice contained in books, manuals, booklets, among other sources. A pure research was carried out, as there was field research at the Matias Beck State School and at the Restorative Justice Center, with the application of questionnaires. The nature of the research is descriptive, using triangulation of methods, since the data sources to be analyzed come from both bibliographical references and numerical data and also from the collection of information on site to better understand the theme of Restorative Justice as alternative methodology for dealing with conflicts in the judicial and school spheres. As a conclusion, it appears that Restorative Justice has advanced in the state of Ceará, especially through initiatives such as the Center for Restorative Justice, but it still lacks an institutional framework that standardizes it and propagates its values in the educational institutions, so that it becomes a viable alternative for resolving conflicts in a more consistent way and with a permanent presence in educational institutions. An institutional maturation of restorative practices and models needs to occur so that more comprehensive public policies can be designed based on this consolidated collection of experiences.