Restorative responses to sexual violence

Zinsstag, Estelle; Keenan, Marie

doi:10.4324/9781315630595-1

Cited by 9 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Support for the use of restorative practices for sexual assault cases is "highly contentious" in many quarters (McGlynn, Westmarland & Godden, 2012, p.213). However, such approaches can be used safely and with positive outcomes in cases of sexual abuse and family violence (Hennessy, Hinton, & Taurima, 2014;McGlynn et al., 2012;Oudshoorn, Jackettt & Stutzman Amsstutz, 2015;Pennell, 2006;Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017). Despite this, when it comes to cases involving young people and sexual harms, including HSB, there is often reluctance and/or criticism around considering a restorative approach (Cossins, 2008).…”

Section: Potential Strengths Weaknesses and Risks Of Fgcs In Hsb Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Criticisms include: that they do not hold perpetrators sufficiently accountable, that they lack legal standards and procedural safeguards, and that such processes, which are often largely private, do not convey appropriate levels of censure. However, such beliefs are increasingly countered (Curtis- Daly, 2005;Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017). Some HSB perpetrators judge FGCs as more challenging than a prison sentence (Gxubane, 2016).…”

Section: Potential Strengths Weaknesses and Risks Of Fgcs In Hsb Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Particularly in cases where denial and minimization exist (Sefarbi, 1990), perpetrators can undermine FGCs by further intimidating the victim (Hopkins, Koss & Bachar, 2004;Kohn, 2010;Mills, Grauwiler & Pezold, 2006). However, potential negative outcomes can be reduced when facilitators in sexual violence cases have specialist knowledge and skills (Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017). In sexual violence cases New Zealand, FGC facilitators must work with a family violence expert who helps participants to understand how family violence manifests and seeks to identify any controlling behavior demonstrated by the perpetrator (Hennessy, Hinton & Taurima, 2014).…”

Section: Power Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…driver for avoiding interventions that could actually prove beneficial. Despite mounting empirical and anecdotal evidence indicating that family group conferences (FGCs) can be helpful in some harmful sexual behaviors (HSB) cases (Anderson, in press;Gxubane, 2016;Henniker & Mercer, 2007;Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017), practitioners are often reluctant to consider the approach. With a specific focus on cases of HSB perpetrated by young people (aged 17 and under) on other young people who are known to them, the authors make the case that FGCs, and restorative approaches in general can, under the correct conditions, be an appropriate and beneficial response.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing Justice and Welfare Needs in Family Group Conferences for Children with Harmful Sexual Behavior: The HSB-FGC Framework

Anderson

Parkinson

2018

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse

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In England and Wales, family group conferences (FGCs) are most often found either in the field of youth justice or in the field of child protection, and consequently often have priorities in line with either one of the two systems. On the one hand, FGCs are a restorative justice tool to address offending behavior and hold young perpetrators to account, while giving victims the possibility of contributing to the justice process. On the other hand, FGCs address safeguarding concerns and are used to plan for child safety and protection. In cases where a young person has sexually harmed another young person, that is, has perpetrated harmful sexual behavior (HSB), all young people involved will have both justice and welfare needs. FGCs are emerging as promising mechanisms in such cases, not only because of their ability to deal with both sets of needs for both young people but also because of their potential to address more holistic needs. However, HSB cases are often complex and sensitive, and are not without risk. Drawing on their experiences in research and practice, the authors explore how the holistic needs of both the harmed and harming individual can be balanced within a risk managed HSB-FGC framework.

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Section: Potential Strengths Weaknesses and Risks Of Fgcs In Hsb Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Strengths Weaknesses and Risks Of Fgcs In Hsb Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Power Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing Justice and Welfare Needs in Family Group Conferences for Children with Harmful Sexual Behavior: The HSB-FGC Framework

Anderson

Parkinson

2018

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse

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“…Around the world, restorative justice is increasingly recognized as a potential response to this shortcoming (Naylor, 2010;McDonald & Tinsley, 2011b;Daly, 2014;Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017;Jülich & Thorburn, 2017;UNODC, 2020). Understood as an approach designed to repair, rather than compound, the impact of harm, several researchers suggest that restorative justice has potential to meet the distinctive justice needs of victims of sexual harm while also holding offending behavior to account (Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017).…”

Section: Chapter 7 Sexual Violence and Restorative Justice Part One:mentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutionalizing Restorative Justice in New Zealand's Criminal Justice System: Gains, Losses and Challenges for the Future

Shank¹

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Restorative justice has played a paradoxical role in the New Zealand criminal justice system. One the one hand, over the past thirty years restorative justice has steadily gained public recognition and received institutional support through judicial endorsements and legislative provisions. In many respects New Zealand has been at the global forefront of incorporating restorative justice processes into the criminal justice system. This, in the hope that restorative justice might improve justice outcomes for victims, offenders and society at large. Yet despite such institutional support for restorative justice, the outcomes of the mainstream justice system have not substantially improved. Ironically, many of the same statutory provisions that enabled restorative justice included punitive provisions that served to tighten the reins of the carceral state. The New Zealand prison population is currently one of the highest in the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the downstream consequences of which have been devastating for those impacted, and particularly for Māori. Openly acknowledging that the existing justice system is “broken,” the government launched a criminal justice reform program in 2018 to consider a range of options that might contribute to fundamental change. Initial feedback elicited as part of the process calls for a more holistic and transformative approach to criminal justice. Notably this is what restorative justice, at its best, claims to deliver. However, the New Zealand criminal justice system appears to lack such transformative aims and the role of restorative justice in driving institutional change in the future remains to be seen. This thesis examines the institutional paradox of restorative justice in New Zealand. It explores how and why restorative justice originally became an established part of the criminal justice system and what impact it has had on the system of which it has become a part. Drawing on institutional theory, it assesses how far restorative justice institutionalization has progressed, the factors that have facilitated it and the barriers that have impeded it. Finally, it identifies ways in which restorative justice, when institutionalized through principles, policy, law and practice, can make a more lasting impact for those whom the justice system is intended to serve. Within restorative justice literature, both those who commend institutionalization and those who oppose it highlight problems caused by “isomorphic incompatibility” between the mainstream adversarial system and restorative justice. This thesis argues that while foundational tensions exist between the two approaches, such tensions are not insurmountable. Simplifications or exaggerations of incompatibility overlook important similarities and confluences between the two approaches. Confronting such institutional “myths” is necessary if isomorphic combability is to occur. These claims are illustrated through an examination of sexual violence. The pressing problem of responding well to sexual violence illustrates how isomorphic alignment, through careful integration of restorative principles and practices into the criminal justice system, can enable the state to fulfil its responsibilities of ensuring societal safety and protecting the rule of law in ways that better meet victims’ distinct justice needs and the best interests of all stakeholders.

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Survivors’ Paths Toward Forgiveness in Restorative Justice Following Sexual Violence

Hadar

Gal

2023

Criminal Justice and Behavior

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Sexual violence (SV) yields complex justice and therapeutic needs among its survivors. Restorative justice (RJ), conducted in addition to or instead of the criminal justice process following SV, provides a platform to address these needs and repair the harm. This study describes the dynamics of RJ processes following SV, leading to the emergence of dialogic forgiveness. Dialogic forgiveness refers to a reduction in negative thoughts, feelings, and motivations toward the responsible person (RP), and the emergence of positive ones within a process of mutual communication between the survivor, RP, and supporters. Focusing on survivors’ experiences, this study, conducted in Israel, is based on 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with SV survivors who participated in RJ encounters, their five supporters, and five RJ facilitators. Gestures of accountability, humanization, and gratitude were identified as crucial elements of implicit and explicit dialogic forgiveness, demonstrating the healing power of RJ following SV.

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Restorative responses to sexual violence

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

Balancing Justice and Welfare Needs in Family Group Conferences for Children with Harmful Sexual Behavior: The HSB-FGC Framework

Balancing Justice and Welfare Needs in Family Group Conferences for Children with Harmful Sexual Behavior: The HSB-FGC Framework

Institutionalizing Restorative Justice in New Zealand's Criminal Justice System: Gains, Losses and Challenges for the Future

Survivors’ Paths Toward Forgiveness in Restorative Justice Following Sexual Violence

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