ABSTRACT
To maintain the integrity of restorative processes, such that they unfold with authentic voluntary participation, institutional policies and practices need to anticipate and accommodate these evolving preferences and ensure that practitioners’ desires and opinions do not supersede those of the people directly involved. Campus practitioners have an extraordinary opportunity to shape students’ understanding of restorative processes and, in turn, their path forward. Students likely lack familiarity with restorative frameworks, and their initial conversations with campus staff can dramatically impact the way in which they engage with their institution and with each other. Regardless of whether students reintegrate into their campus community or the community beyond, how practitioners destigmatize help seeking by those who cause harm without minimizing the impact of problematic sexual behavior requires transparency, sensitivity, and courage that rivals that of our students.
