estorative justice is often thought of as the opposite of retributive  or punitive justice; however, this distinction is an oversimplification.

is inclusive, has a problem-solving focus, and involves accountability, dialogue, and reparation in the pursuit of healing and righting relationships (Zehr, 1990). As a paradigm, then, restorative justice challenges existing justice structures and advocates for a different approach to conflict. Another way to think about a paradigm is as a lens through which to see the world and in the case of restorative transformative justice, a different way to see conflict, harm, and punishment.

Restorative justice has become a social movement that impacts the way we understand and respond to crime and conflict in diverse communities throughout the world. – (Umbriet et al., 2005, p. 254)

People who make this error view the individual victim as partially responsible for what happened to them and ignore situational causes.

Attribution error occurs when individuals over-emphasize personal characteristics and devalue environmental characteristics when judging others, resulting in victim blaming (

ictim precipitation, also known as victim facilitation, refers to situations where the victim was the initial aggressor in the action that led to their harm or loss.

ictimology research often identifies and defines types of victimisation, explores how they are measured, and examines relationships between victims and perpetrators and the experiences of survivors in the criminal justice system, victim services, and society

as grounded in overcoming the disproportionate impact of environmental harms on marginalized groups in society (defined in terms of race, gender, class or other factors and their intersection

Fifty-six percent of people living in the vicinity of toxic waste sites are people of colour (Covert, 2016). Such inequities demonstrate environmental racism.

Intergenerational responsibility (our obligations to future generations), equity (fairness) in the distribution of environmental resources and risks, and the recognition of environmental rights that embody human freedom, social rights, and the fundamental quality of life are central environmental justice values

. Green criminology offers three distinct justice perspectives that often work in harmony to provide a comprehensive picture of green victimisation: the environmental justice perspective, the species justice perspective, and the ecological justice perspective.

such injuries and deaths result from environmental hazards in the workplace – exposure to dangerous chemicals or toxic emissions on the factory shop floor or to pesticides in an agricultural setting, for example. Green criminology sees these workers as victims of environmental crime and injustice.

e but have a corresponding responsibility to use resources in a way that minimises the impact on the environment and other species

ontrary to the other two ecophilosophies, ecocentrism “is based on the idea that humans and their activities are inextricably interconnected with the rest of the natural world”

iocentric philosophy does not subscribe to the hierarchy of anthropocentrism, but instead sees every species and being as equal in worth

—that result in such situations.  Indigenous peoples around the world bear the brunt of environmental injustice, from toxic oil contamination in Amazonian Ecuador (Kimerling, 2013; Pellegrini et al., 2020), to dam construction in Brazil (Bratman, 2014), to the toxic waste situation in the United States

, “the number of water-borne diseases in First Nations communities is 26 times higher than the national average, and people living on reserve are 90 times more likely to have no access to running water compared to non-Indigenous people in Canada” (para. 8).

he Semiahmoo First Nation only recently ended its 16-year boil-water advisory despite being only five kilometres outside the city of White Rock, BC (about 50 km south of Vancouver), whose residents have always had clean drinking water (Black, 2021)

or decades, multiple Indigenous communities have been living under water advisories, where they must boil the water in order to drink it or bathe

Green criminologists point out the speciesism inherent in these laws, and how such silencing harms both the animals and the employees who work in these spaces

f recorded high levels of contaminants in the water system, and the slow replacement of the pipes coupled with promises of safe water, people in Flint still cannot drink the water from their taps, or trust the water is safe.

green criminologists pose these critical questions: Who determines what is harmful? and Who defines what is criminal?

animal agriculture industry itself determines what is “necessary” pain and suffering for the animals within their control, creating a loophole for corporations to continue to treat animals poorly

Green criminology not only looks at breaches of law, but also who is breaking the law, and how the justice system responds to such breaches

riminology is anthropocentric (human-centred),

green criminology explores and analyses: the causes, consequences and prevalence of environmental crime and harm, the responses to and prevention of environmental crime and harm by the legal system (civil, criminal, regulatory) and by nongovernmental entities and social movements, as well as the meaning and mediated representations of environmental crime and harm (p.

environment, animals and humans; a focus on crime; a focus on harm; and a focus on injustice.

Green criminology refers to the study of environmental crimes and harms affecting human and non‐human life, ecosystems and the biosphere.

ot only the role of power in crimes against the environment, but also how such crimes disproportionately affect individuals based on race, class, and gender. To this, we would add species and nature, as green criminology expands the notion of victimhood to include animals (plus sentient beings like fish and insects) and the environment.

]any issues (e.g., racism, sexism, crime, environmentalism, etc.) can be related to economic, political and class interests, and more specifically, to the ability of powerful groups to manipulate and use race, class, gender, and the environme

Green criminology’s focus is on both legal and illegal harm to the environment (ecosystems), humans, and animals.

Green criminology as a theory holds the potential to include Indigenous knowledge and understanding of the natural world to steward a just and sustainable future.

There are some criminological works that do provide an abolitionist perspective. For instance, McDowell’s (2019) article on insurgent safety theorises alternatives to policing and argues that state-sponsored social control fails to provide real safety against harm/transgression and fails to reduce it. They argue that community-based safety is the only way to reduce harm/transgression and achieve safety.

Black feminist scholars, from Beth Richie (2012) to Andrea Ritchie (2017) among others building on the work of Angela Davis (2011), have been calling for police abolition for some time and in regard to particular transgressions such as violence against women and domestic violence. Thus, even for these types of transgressions, the Black feminist tradition recognises that police often cause more harm, and amplify harm, to women in these scenarios.

Intersectionality is a framework that examines how race, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity layer on each other in interlocking ways to multiply the effects of victimisation or criminalisation

Rape culture shifts the blame to women, rather than focusing on the problem of glamorised and normalised male violence. Sexual assault prevention programs often focus on the behaviours of women and how to avoid an assault, rather than on campaigns directed at men and what they can do to ensure they do not sexually assault someone. Moreover, these attitudes often result in the double victimisation of women: first by the man who assaulted her, and then by the criminal justice system in which she is re-traumatised, blamed for the assault, and has her character questioned. While rape shield laws are supposed to protect women, they fail women far too often

rape culture “encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women in the form of words, jokes, advertising, media, objectification, and gendered norms” (Tavcer et al., 2018, p. 196). When such attitudes are prevalent, sexual assault is commonly linked to rape myths that suggest women who dress provocatively, drink or use drugs, or who walk alone are somehow responsible for the assault

s. Reasons for the lack of reporting include feelings of shame, guilt, and worry about what people will think of them should their assault be known (Conroy & Cotter, 2017).

women are also much more likely to be blamed for their own victimisation, such as in cases of sexual assault.  One of the more glaring examples of the pervasiveness of victim-blaming can be seen in the judgment delivered by Robin Camp

009 to 2014 on sexual assaults against men and women, men were the perpetrators of sexual assault in 98% of the cases where charges were laid (Rotenberg, 2017)

Young women and girls face greater rates of sexual violence, representing nearly nine out of every ten (87%) survivors of sexual assault (Rotenberg, 2017)

While anyone in Canada can experience violence, women, girls and young women, Indigenous women and girls, lesbian, gay and bisexual people, women living with a disability and women living in rural and remote regions, are at greater risk of violence. (Government of Canada)

hlin viewed boys as having “legitimate concerns” around money and status, while girls were seen as experiencing “frivolous concerns” related to finding romantic partners (Belknap, 2015, p. 33). While they mentioned gender in their the

riginal social bond theory by Travis Hirschi, which completely ignored gender and the female experience.

olation, but rather through circle work, which creates a space for discussion, in-depth interaction and better understanding overall (Palys & Victor, 2007). While the offender may still be punished, the overall aim is to restore society to a healthy condition