Our approach
Conflict arises as a normal part of belonging to a community, playing sports and being human. Whether it’s a heated misunderstanding during the game or an inappropriate comment made at practice, at times members may want extra support to address harm and resolve conflicts that come up in the league.
In April 2024, the PTSL membership voted in favour of taking a restorative and transformative approach to league conflict resolution (CR).
Our Definition
Restorative justice describes an approach to addressing conflict and harm that centres on accountability, repair, and relationship. Learn more here and here.
History
This approach has been adapted (and, in some cases, appropriated) from justice processes practiced by Indigenous nations since time immemorial. We are particularly indebted to Indigenous practitioners in Aotearoa (so-called New Zealand) and so-called Canada.
We must acknowledge that Indigenous communities have been violently denied the right to practice their traditions, including their justice traditions, since the onset of colonization and continue to be disproportionately targeted, punished and incarcerated by the punitive justice system.
While PTSL works to divest itself of punitive approaches in our policies and practices, we recognize it is essential that we do the work of divesting from the oppressive, racist, colonial mindsets that normalized these approaches in the first place. We are grateful to learn from the vast wisdom of Indigenous communities, past and present. As we transition to a more restorative approach, we will continue to challenge ourselves and each other to engage in respectful, reparative and non-appropriative ways.
Grounding Values
Survivor-centred: We listen to and integrate the experiences and needs of those harmed in our responses. We recognize that in any given scenario, more than one person can experience harm, that harm can occur to different degrees, and that all harm needs to be addressed. This is not a simple accuser/accused binary.
Accountability, not disposability: PTSL does not tolerate any form of abuse or harassment and is committed to addressing all forms of harm in a restorative manner whenever possible. Simply removing those who have caused harm may allow us to stop looking at a problem in its immediacy, but it often allows cycles of harm to continue elsewhere. Without being permissive of harmful behaviour, we prioritize supporting an individual’s ability to change, model accountability, and repair harm. We recognize that meeting these goals means supporting all parties with their healing work whenever and however possible.
Community and context: Harm doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As a community, we must examine the circumstances that allow harm to happen in the first place (both societally and within PTSL) and respond by making meaningful changes to prevent future harm through a trauma-informed and intersectional lens.