Anonymously restored: the natural partnership and mutual instruction of Alcoholics Anonymous and restorative justice

Abstract

Today, western academicians continue to examine, learn from, and respect the many indigenous forms of what is often deemed ‘restorative justice.’ The following paper presents a similar process of learning through the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program. AA is a time-tested practice that persists because of its ability to promote personal and group harmony. It is isolated as a western subgroup that, like many indigenous justice traditions, contains a restorative fabric and may serve as an instructive case study. As a living model of restorative practice, AA is able to sharpen aspects of restorative justice theory, though this theory is also used to comment upon perceived weaknesses in the AA program. More generally, this paper seeks to raise awareness for restorative practice that occurs naturally in many western contexts. It is important that proponents/advocates of restorative justice begin to consider the ways in which unseen or anonymous allies may support the development and expansion of restorative justice.

Keywords:

• restorative justice
• alcoholism
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• community-based justice
• reintegration
• reintegrative shaming

Notes

1. As explained in its sixth tradition, AA does not ‘endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise.’ This paper does not seek to promote any official relationship between AA and the restorative justice field, but simply create room for discourse and learning (TSTT, 1981, p. 155).

2. AA avoids terminology like ‘offender’ or ‘sinner’ as it may work against efforts to promote positive relabeling. Restorative justice is also mindful of the potential dangers of language, and specifically, the use of labels to define an individual. However, the notion of ‘alcoholic as offender’ is essential as it allows for victims to be properly identified and prioritized.