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.