Office of Restorative Practices influences conversation on responses to sexual violence

Alicia Nichols, director of Minnesota’s Office of Restorative Practices, served as the keynote speaker at the Sexual Violence Center’s 3^rd Annual Building Bridges Conference. An event focused on strengthening the collective response to sexual violence through learning, collaboration and practical strategies. 

This year’s theme, “Disrupting the Status Quo, Redefining What’s Possible,” invited participants to challenge established approaches and explore news ways to support survivors. The conference brought together advocates, survivors, health care providers, educators, law enforcement professionals, attorneys, and other multidisciplinary partners committed to improving responses to sexual violence.

Director Nichols was selected to deliver the keynote based on her more than 20 years of experience as a social worker, restorative justice practitioner, and violence prevention leader. She has spent her career helping people, families, and communities affected by violence and harm. As the director of the Office of Restorative Practices, she leads statewide efforts to expand approaches rooted in healing, accountability, relationships and community.

Throughout her keynote, Alicia encouraged attendees to broaden their understanding of what justice can mean for survivors and to remain open to new possibilities for healing and accountability.

“There are things that we have inherited that deserve to be questioned,” Director Nichols said during her speech. “Ways of responding to harm that deserve imagination. And people whose lives depend on us being willing to ask for something better. There’s a question that has followed me through much of my life, personally, and professionally: What else is possible?”

Drawing on her experiences, she spoke about the complexity of responding to harm and supporting survivors. She reflected on lessons that have shaped her work, including understanding that harm and love can coexist and that meaningful responses must center around survivor safety, choice, and healing.

Director Nichols encouraged attendees to think differently about accountability and restorative practices. Sharing the example of a survivor who did not want contact with the person who caused harm, she noted that people often mistake a survivor's boundary for "the end of possibility." Nichols emphasized that accountability can still occur without direct contact. "Punishment is something that can be done to you. Accountability requires something from you," she said, describing accountability as an ongoing process of acknowledging harm, respecting boundaries and demonstrating change.

Director Nichols closed with a call for communities, institutions and government to share responsibility for preventing harm, supporting survivors and building more responsive systems, reminding attendees that the people most affected by violence and harm are often the people who should help shape the solutions. 

Resources from the Office of Restorative Practices

Restorative Practices | Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families