Peacemaking Circles Model

By Sayra Pinto

A peacemaking process entails the following steps enfolding all who are affected by an event, an issue, or the reason a community decides a process needs to take place

Preparation and follow up
Circles: Introductions, Building Trust, Revealing, Resolution
Formalization
Implementation

We articulate the goals of the peacemaking process how these steps are incorporated as follows:

Goal 1:

Creating a foundation of credibility

Preparation and Follow Up

Individual conversations with folks affected by the reason the process is being put together
Conducting assessments to ascertain folks’ capacity to participate in a process
Identifying and assembling a team to guide the process and coordinate communications, documentation, and other administrative process needs
Processing the data collected through individual conversations, assembling circles, holding them, and documenting them
Based on individual conversations held with folks invited to participate in the process, ensuring accessibility and ongoing connection with process participants before and after each circle.
Process holders’ behaviors and values anchor the credibility of the process.
Preparation and follow up are the foundation of trust for the overall peacemaking process.

Goal 2:

Building connection that creates community and accountability

Circles: Introductions

The first task that is prepared in a peacemaking process is an introduction circle.
Folks connected to individuals involved in the event that motivated the creation of a restorative justice process are assembled based on data learned through the preparation process.
The first circle is designed to get folks to get to know each other for the purposes of beginning to understand the worldviews, structures, relational patterns and general circumstances that led to the event that took place.
Agreements are developed as soon as possible to expand the locus of credibility to the circle itself and not just the process guides.

Goal 3:

Developing a foundation of trust to enable participants to be undefended

Circles: Building Trust

The second task at hand in a peacemaking process is to create conditions of trust that can allow folks to fully express and witness the ways they each have been affected by the event that took place.
The focus of this second circle has to do with acknowledging how each person has been affected and by witnessing what they have to share.
Participants are encouraged to begin to think about what they need to have happen to feel resolved.
The agreements are often tested in this stage of the process as it is difficult to listen to what others are saying and also it is deeply challenging to speak to what has happened.
There may be a need for multiple circles as this stage of the process.

Goal 4:

Full expression of participants’ deepest yearning for making things right

Circles: Revealing

Built on a foundation of collective credibility, agreements, and trust, participants deepen their capacity to truly speak to their experience.
Participants express what they think it will take to make things right.
This stage of the process can be cathartic because folks struggle with feelings of guilt, inadequacy, etc.
At the end of this process, folks agree on what needs to happen to make things right. This is the third task for the process.
A plan is made to create a foundation of support and accountability for people directly working to make things right.
There may be multiple circles at this stage of the process.

Goal 5:

To bring people together to connect around possibilities for resolution between different parties involved in the process.

Circles: Resolution

The fourth task of the process is to bring all affected parties together to begin to explore possibilities for resolution.
All circles taking place to create community and accountability to each party come together to begin a new process of introductions, and agreements for the purpose to building a broader foundation of credibility, community and support for a deeper conversation around what it will take to make things right, to resolve the event that motivated the creation of the process.
There may be multiple circles seeking to arrive at resolution.

Goal 6:

To legally codify and/or fully express agreement about steps to resolution to a broader community, institutions involved, and all affected parties.

Formalization

The fifth task of the process is to finalize agreements to resolution.
This entails formally articulating agreements, commitments, and ongoing work that constitutes an agreed upon resolution to the event being addressed.
Planning for ongoing anchoring of community and accountability as deemed necessary by circle participants.
There may be multiple circles at this stage of the process.

Goal 7:

To maintain a structure of community and accountability as resolution agreements are implemented.

Implementation

The sixth task of the process is to ensure the full implementation of the resolution agreements.
Resolution agreements are implemented by parties involved. Folks who agreed to follow up with individuals implementing the agreements keep track of successes, challenges and failures in that process.
Circle participants are convened as agreed to celebrate accomplishments, problem solve challenges, and determine course correction steps when needed.
We recommend that these follow up circles happen for one year after the beginning of the implementation stage.
At one year, an assessment can be made about whether or not the process needs to continue.