The Silenced Voice as Harm Metric

Sor Juana's silencing by the Church—her intellectual work censored, her right to write restricted—demonstrates that harm extends beyond the visible. Punitive systems often ignore epistemic harm: the denial of voice, credibility, and narrative authority. Restorative approaches informed by Sor Juana's experience must recognize that true justice requires restoring the harmed person's capacity and right to speak and be heard. This includes creating spaces where victims name their experience, where communities witness their truth, and where institutional power stops invalidating their words. The concept reframes justice as fundamentally about restoring voice: enabling the harmed to reclaim their story, and requiring the harmer and community to truly listen. Silence perpetuates injustice; restoration requires hearing.