Translation: Framework for Social Repair in the Childcare Benefits Scandal

Nicole Immler and Niké Wentholt ask the question: What is social repair? How can we think recognition and reparation of past injustice broader than individual recognition and financial compensation? In 2023 we wrote an essay for the Ministry of Finance called Repair as a social mission. We showed that there are several perspective shifts needed to practice repair, arguing that repair is in fact the visible transformation of social relationships. This essay – combined with insights from work sessions with bureaucrats and other involved parties – was the basis for drafting an (open access) framework called Social repair of the Child Benefit affair. It shows how these perspective shifts can be implemented on various levels in institutions and society, involving all the various parties involved in the Child Benefit Scandal. Any organization can work with this integral framework itself.

Despite all the money, personnel and time spent over so many years now in repair instruments, those victimized experience them too often as inadequate. Arrangements are ad hoc, technocratic and bureaucratic; participation starts too late or is little meaningful; and most importantly: a systemic approach is lacking. This means the changes taken do not affect the structures of power (expressed in institutional bias, stigmatization, and marginalization), thus do not allow for transformation, thus cannot provide a guarantee of non-repetition.

There is much awareness for the problems, however it seems to need a theoretical framework that helps to anchor and guide existing knowledge, energy and initiatives through concrete language and actions. Our framework of ‘transformative justice’ – identifying what is needed for recognition being transformative – brings together case-transcending insights from our larger research project Dialogics of Justice at the University of Humanistic Studies, which examines multiple recognition operations, including abuse in Catholic institutions, civil harm during military peace missions, colonial violence and ecocide. We apply our findings to the Child Benefit case. The Child Benefit scandal does not stand alone. We see similar mechanisms – injured citizens who are not taken seriously enough and institutions that act in their own favor – in all those cases; including the case of Groningen (gas winning), Goede Herder (abuse/forced labour), adoption, and others. What they have in common is that those victimized call for a concrete repair operation from a wrongdoing institution, but also seek social change: a humanization of society. 

An opinion piece narrating some of the challenges and our argument in a nutshell, is available here.

The entire framework [in Dutch] is available on the website of the Government of the Netherlands here.

Below an English translation is provided.