Reconciling A Sexual Assault & De-Escalating Street Conflict

We offer two stories this time. In Part One, a story of restorative

justice and reconciliation between a woman, who was a victim of a

non-consensual sexual assault during a casual date in college, and the man

who assaulted her. We'll hear about an all-too-rare resolution where the

perpetrator becomes inspired to make things more right by admitting his

guilt first to his victim, then publicly and teaming up with the victim to

share their story together to promote consent, and help reduce sexual

abuse in dating.

This full story can be heard on the podcast Reckonings. We present a bit

of a short cut version of it today on our show by interviewing the

Reckonings producer and host Stephanie Lepp.

In part two of the hour-long program, we explore an emerging practice

within conflict resolution. When interpersonal conflicts arise, our

capacity for care and compassion can sometimes be eclipsed by other

emotions. De-escalation is a technique that helps people return to that

place of balance.

Sarah Holtz talks with Lindsey Krinks who leads trainings in de-escalation

on behalf of the non-profit she co-founded, which is called Open Table

Nashville. Though she predominantly works with homeless communities,

Lindsey emphasizes the degree to which de-escalation can be beneficial to

anyone facing conflict.