Judy Korn
INTRODUCTION
Working with young and violent right-wing extremists, Judy Korn recognized that hate crimes by this group and other extremists are increasing as well as rates of recidivism, but that the root causes for those ethnocentrically motivated violent acts remains unaddressed. She tackles this problem through a targeted prison prevention program that dismantles ideological attitudes and behavior, and stabilizes the youngsters to abstain from ideological hate crimes after their release.
Judy has created the first rehabilitation system that allows delinquents to break through the vicious cycle of personal frustration and fanaticism
She strengthens the youth both inside the prison and after release to distance themselves from ideologically radical attitudes and actions
Trainers enable the emotionally alienated prisoners to control their aggressions and dare to build relationships
Her methodology has resulted in a dramatically lower recidivism rate
THE NEW IDEA
Judy is addressing the widespread and rising problem of ethnocentrically motivated violence. She recognizes that all youth committing hate crimes—be they right-wing extremists or other ideological extremists—essentially share similar thought and behavioral patterns: Most are personally troubled hangers-on and use ideological explanations as superficial reasons for their crimes.
„Judy strengthens the youth both inside the prison and after release to distance themselves from ideologically radical attitudes and actions.“
Judy has created the first rehabilitation system that allows delinquents to break through the vicious cycle of personal frustration, fanaticism, violence, and recidivism. By simultaneously tackling the motivational, behavioral, ideological, and social roots of their offenses, Judy strengthens the youth both inside the prison and after release to distance themselves from ideologically radical attitudes and actions. Through a multifaceted training she works with the youngsters through their personal biography to dismantle the ideological justification of their crimes and leads them to take responsibility for what they have done. Additionally, her trainers enable the emotionally alienated prisoners to control their aggressions and dare to build relationships; so they can create a supportive network of carefully selected friends or family members they can turn to after they are released.
She is expanding her system by training trainers; spreading through Germany and beyond. Her methodology, which also involves relevant support institutions for aftercare, has resulted in a dramatically lower recidivism rate. Judy has proven her goal that her concept works by focusing on a very dangerous and tricky target group, and knows it will work for other violent delinquents, with the potential to influence the treatment of violent prisoners on an international scale.
THE PERSON
Judy has been a entrepreneur since she was a teenager. Growing up in Berlin she witnessed violent clashes in her neighborhood between right-wing and left-wing youths in the 1980s. Her initial reaction was to join the anti-fascist movement to protest against the Neo-Nazis. However, she soon realized that counter violence and refusal to communicate with rightist youths did not solve the problem. The Neo-Nazis became more violent, and her friends were still assaulted by them. At fourteen-years-old, she gathered her courage and approached a group of Neo-Nazis in her community, to ask why they acted this way. She realized the youngsters—who came from poor areas—were really complaining that they felt left out and did not have a space to meet. In turn, she motivated them to build a youth centre. Earning their respect by listening and appreciating them as individuals—Judy challenged their ideological arguments and violent deeds. The youth took off their flags with right wing symbols—though still wearing short cropped hair—and participated peacefully at the youth center; refraining from violence. Able to introduce democratic ideas to otherwise closed circles, Judy realized she had found a communicative, inclusive approach to extremist ideology and violent youth that separated the value of the person from their deed.
To deepen her understanding and findings, she studied education. She continued to work with radical youth at university and later as a lecturer. Before embarking on her prison project, she started a groundbreaking mediation and anti-violence program in schools. To reduce violence, she needed to involve the most violent and high-risk pupils at the center, and not marginalize them. She trained them as violence prevention specialists and mediators because she felt they were “experts in violence” and should channel this expertise in a constructive way. The program was a great success, resulting in significantly lower aggression rates. It is still up and running in many urban schools in Berlin.
Source: http://germany.ashoka.org/fellow/judy-korn
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