The fundamental logic and potential value of applying restorative justice to the prevention and treatment of school bullying in China

Abstract

Given the frequent occurrence of school bullying cases, the Chinese government has been working to address the prevention and treatment of school bullying in recent years. School bullying infringes on individuals and disrupts peer relationships; hence, this issue aligns with the focus of restorative justice on the process of addressing harm to interpersonal relationships. Restorative justice emphasizes victims’ feelings and rights, encourages “reconciliation,” and aligns with China’s traditional legal culture of “no litigation” and the educational objectives of schools. Currently, the application of restorative justice in addressing school bullying in China is still exploratory, some traditional educational methods already implicitly contain the spirit of restorative justice. The newly released government documents on the governance of school bullying also provide room for the application of restorative justice. The traditional restorative mediation model or meeting model can theoretically be used for different bullying cases, focusing on “truth-telling,” “empowerment,” and “apology and compensation”. In the future, given the expansive possibilities of restorative justice in schools facilitated by traditional campus culture and class teacher authority, bullying prevention and control on campuses can be extended further by reinforcing proactive practices of educational learning and reactive practices of responding to harm and wrongdoing.