Justice, Reciprocity and the Internalisation of Punishment in Victims of Crime

Abstract

This paper is published as part of special issue on the theme of 'justice without retribution'. Any attempt to consider how justice may be achieved without retribution has to begin with a consideration of what we mean by justice. The most powerful pleas for justice usually come from those who feel that they have been harmed by the wrongful acts of others. This paper will explore this intuition about justice and will argue that it arises from the central importance of reciprocity, in the form of equity, balance and fairness, in human relationships. This is expressed in our image of justice, one of whose core symbols is a set of scales. I will use a clinical case to illustrate what can happen when criminal harm is not followed by any form of restitution. In this case, the punitive impulse was internalised in the victim and turned against herself in the form of deliberate self harm and, ultimately, death by suicide. I will argue that human relationships largely consist of reciprocal acts of good or harm and that we constantly strive for a balanced reciprocity in our relationships with others. This theme has been played out throughout human history in personal relationships, social customs, legal systems, religion and culture. It is also seen in higher primates. When someone is a victim of wrongful harm, there is a need to take measures to restore the balance which has been lost.

A systematic review on psychological interventions for individuals with a history of offending behavior delivered by digital means

“…Due to the nature of their involvement in criminal behavior, individuals who have come into contact with the criminal justice system can be found in a range of settings, such as prisons, correctional facilities, or forensic psychiatric hospitals (Varghese & Magaletta, 2022), but also, in community-based settings (e.g., substance abuse treatment centers, outpatient mental health clinics, community supervision/probation or parole) (Swinkels et al, 2020). These contexts play an important role in offering conditions and services that address the individuals' needs and, thus, promote an adequate reintegration into civil society and reducing their recidivism risk (Callender, 2020;Czerwinski et al, 2014;Swinkels et al, 2020). In particular, community-based interventions can benefit forensic populations by providing more individualized and flexible treatment, tailored to the individuals' specific needs (Swinkels et al, 2020).…”