A community-oriented conflict resolution framework for EDGI

Contributors: Kelsey Breseman

Based on: Creative Interventions, creative-interventions.org. "Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence." 2012. but not a complete adaptation. Tools and passages from this toolkit have been selected in a way that the original authors might not condone (?)— specifically, my selections here, as situations we are likely to encounter in EDGI are much less extreme than those imagined in the toolkit.

It is my hope that we can adopt these tools and methods as appropriate to situations we may encounter– particularly at appropriate scale. It is important and helpful to surface conflicts (and potential conflicts) so that we can learn and grow from them as a community and as an organization. I think this framework can help us do so.

Practical notes:

1. This is unfinished work, and even were it not, there would be room for growth. Please comment as with any EDGI document.
2. A lot of this is directly quoted from the Creative Interventions Toolkit. Direct quotes are indicated with (at minimum) use of the Cambria typeface. Footnotes are used to indicate where in the Toolkit a particular quote comes from, in the form section-page e.g. 2-6 indicates section 2, page 6.

—Kelsey

Understanding the approach

This is a community-centric approach to addressing conflict. Its goal is to engage community members as appropriate in understanding and working through conflict to positively transform not only the individuals involved in conflict but also the operation of their community.

A facilitator or facilitators are recommended to help guide this process.

Community Accountability

Community Accountability is a framework for recognizing the role of the organization in situations of conflict.

“Accountability is the ability to recognize, end and take responsibility for violence. We usually think of the person doing harm as the one to be accountable for violence. Community accountability also means that communities are accountable for sometimes ignoring, minimizing or even encouraging violence. Communities must also recognize, end and take responsibility for violence – by becoming more knowledgeable, skillful and willing to take action to intervene in violence and to support social norms and conditions that prevent violence from happening in the first place.”^[1]

Struggling with accountability

“Most of us struggle with accountability. We need to create responses which take this struggle into account.”^[2]

Some tactics for avoiding accountability^[3]:

• Leaving the community, relationship, organization to avoid accountability;
• Hoping people forget;
• Hoping people feel sorry for us so they leave us alone or blame others;
• Making people scared of us or scared of our anger;
• Making people depend on us so they feel too guilty or scared to challenge us;
• Creating delaying tactics;
• Creating distractions;
• Blaming others;
• Blaming our past;
• Blaming the victim;
• Blaming those who are trying to hold us accountable;
• Making the accountability process be the problem, not our own harmful attitudes, behaviors and frameworks for thinking and acting;
• Wanting our own version of accountability to be the right one – controlling the accountability process.

Accountability is a difficult, long-term process. We may feel personally conflicted about holding ourselves and others to a full process of change. How to pursue full accountability?

Supporting sustainable transformation:^[4]

• Create systems flexible enough to allow for the expected process of dodging and delaying accountability and strong enough to withstand and diminish these tactics over time;
• Create ways to build in support (people to talk to, time to vent, time to grieve, time to play, to share good food, and so on) for everyone involved in the intervention;
• Celebrate successes while also taking into account things which went wrong or can be improved;
• It is easy and normal to become frustrated and impatient. Support compassion for everyone.

The limits of intervention

“There is often nothing we can do to “make up” for the original harm. Interventions can bring about positive change but cannot make the original harm disappear.”^[5]

• Think about whether you feel that the only way that accountability can be reached is if the original harm never occurred. If so, no amount of accountability or responsibility will ever feel like enough.
• Think about how to accept that harm has occurred and to use accountability to acknowledge that harm and to move towards repair and change which makes sure that this harm is not repeated.

“Caution: A note about forgiveness. Accountability does NOT mean that forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is something that is left up to an individual and community to feel in a solid and sincere way. We encourage that people explore what forgiveness means for them and what it might bring as a benefit.

We also encourage people to think about how the pressure to forgive can be another form of power and control. All steps of accountability are possible without forgiveness ever being a goal.”^[6]

Pre-work

For each participating individual (solo reflection)

Values to guide your intervention

“We ask everyone involved to read through this list (or have someone read it to you) and think about what these values mean to you. We hope that you will agree to these values and let them guide your involvement in this intervention.

If you do not agree, consider what changes you would want and those you would find absolutely necessary. Others may want to consider whether to include these changes. Or these changes may mean a more serious disagreement which requires more discussion. Please be clear about changes you would seek and what this means in terms of your involvement.”^[7]

I understand and can agree to the following values:^[8]

• Collectivity or Community Responsibility (Working together as a group)
• Holism (Taking into account potential wellbeing of all people involved)
• Safety and Risk Taking (Recognizing that safety sometimes requires risk taking)
• Accountability (Taking appropriate levels of responsibility for ending violence)
• Transformation (Working towards positive change for all)
• Flexibility and Creativity (Be ready and able to adjust to new challenges and
  new opportunities)
• Patience (Know that making change can take time and patience)
• Building on What We Know (Build on people’s values, experience and
  strengths)
• Sustainability (Create ways to make changes that can last a long time)
• Expanding Our Work (Make changes and create lessons that can help others)
• Others:_______________________________

Additional or instead of ^ above: Worksheet on values^[9]

1. What is important to you?
2. At times that you have tried to change your own behavior, what has been helpful?
   What has made it hard?
3. What are some guiding principles that have helped you in your own life?
4. What are some values that you would like to hold even if they have been difficult or
   challenging to keep up?
5. What values do you think will lead to lasting positive change?

Get real about your biases: questions to ask yourself:^[10]

• Do I find one individual more appealing to me as a person?
• Is one person a member of my group of friends, family,
• Do I relate to one person because of our similarities or something that I admire about one person over the other?
• Do I find that one person has certain qualities that make them less or more sympathetic than the other?
• Do I depend on or get benefits from one person over the other? Does that make me fear that taking action will work against me? Do I fear that I have something to lose?
• Do I have biases, big or small, obvious or subtle, against or for anyone because of any of the following qualities?
• Gender/sex
• Race
• Class or income level
• Level of education
• Immigration status
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Physical or mental ability
• Physical appearance or attractiveness
• What country or region they’re from
• Religion
• Political affiliation
• Emotional, financial or other dependence on others for survival

Being uncomfortable with conflict^[11]

“Most of us are either uncomfortable with conflict or are too comfortable with conflict. We need better tools and opportunities for practice so that we can address conflict in a constructive manner.”^[12]

• Reflect on your experience dealing with conflict and be honest about your biases – do you enjoy or thrive on conflict? Do you often cause conflict? Do you minimize conflict or pretend it isn’t there? Do you run away from conflict?
• Share your conflict style with the group you are working with. Let them know so people can be aware of how to work with you better and you can work with them better.
• Think about how you can change your relationship to conflict if it is unhealthy. Think about how your pattern of dealing with conflict can help situations of violence intervention  or make them more or a problem.
• Use the Toolkit to find ways to use your skills in dealing with conflict or avoid your conflict problems by following some of the tools and guidelines provided.
• Be real about your conflict style and your capacity to change. You may need to find roles that take advantage of your way of dealing with conflict and avoid roles in which your conflict style may simply be too difficult.

For the team

Coordination and establishing shared understanding^[13]

• Take the time to discuss, share opinions, uncover differences, and discover commonalities with those involved in the intervention.
• Make sure that important items like goals, bottom lines, communication agreements, and safety plans [ed.: ground rules] are shared and agreed upon with everyone involved in the intervention.

What ground rules can we adopt to make all participants feel safe through this process?

The process, in four phases

1. Getting started: identify the situation and involved parties' personal goals (including community members)
2. Planning and preparation: figure out who to involve, adopt ground rules, build goals to share and a plan for accountability
3. Taking action: hold a meeting or series of meetings asking for accountability
4. Following up: ensure the accountability process is on track. This may include check ins, and should happen even if everything goes differently from the original plan

Questions for each phase

Each of the four phases has several parts:

• Getting clear: understanding the situation and who is involved
• Risk assessment and planning for risk mitigation
• Mapping allies and barriers to the accountability process
• Goal setting
• Taking accountability
• Working together
• Keeping on track

What is going on? Worksheet (4A-21)

For completion by facilitator(s)

• How can you describe the harm that is happening?
• Who is getting harmed? In what ways?
• Who is doing the harm? In what ways?
• How long has the harm been going on?
• Is it happening all of the time? Does it happen in cycles?
• Has it been getting worse? More frequent? More serious?
• What is still happening now, might be happening now or could happen in the future?
• Are there particular words or a term that best describes it?
• Are there certain people, things or circumstances that make it get worse? Or make it get better?
• Have people tried to get help before? Who? What kind of help? What happened?
• Who knows about the situation of harm?
• What are other important things to know about?
• Are there some key things you still need to find out? If so, what are some possible next steps for finding out?
• What else is important to do next?

...

to be continued