The Psychological Impact of Restorative Justice Practices on Victims of Crimes—a Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Restorative justice emerges as a theoretical-practical approach to the criminal legal system, in which the reparation of damage of the victim is a central point. However, the growing empirical production referring to the effects of this approach on victims is sometimes shown to be weakened or dispersed, focusing mainly on their satisfaction. Objective: The present work intended to systematically evaluate the empirical production of the restorative justice field, to aggregate and examine information in the literature regarding the psychological impacts on victims who participated in restorative practices. Methods: A search was made using electronic databases to identify quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies, published between January 2000 and December 2020 that reported psychological impacts on real victims of crimes, who participated in mediations/conferences victim–offender. Results: 35 studies were identified as focusing on the psychological impacts on victims resulting from restorative practices. These studies have shown effects on post-traumatic symptomatology, on the emotions and emotional needs resulted from victimization, as well as on the victims’ perceptions of their offenders. Conclusions: The present research showed that restorative justice practices have a positive psychological impact on victims, who are frequently forgotten in conventional justice, and that some of these impacts persist over time.

Restorative Justice, Youth Violence, and Policing: A Review of the Evidence

“…A REA utilises the search and sifting principles of systematic reviews but on a more limited basis, tailored to the needs of a focused audience and conducted within a limited timescale (Varker et al 2015). This study employed a similar approach to that of Nascimento et al (2022) work to evaluate restorative justice employing a SPIDER research strategy.…”

Survivors’ Paths Toward Forgiveness in Restorative Justice Following Sexual Violence

“…Empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the success of the growing number of RJ programs (Angel et al, 2014; Nascimento et al, 2022; Strang, 2002). Most empirical knowledge assesses recidivism rates and the participants’ degree of satisfaction (Sherman et al, 2015; Weatherburn & Macadam, 2013).…”

“…Forgiveness by sexually assaulted women has been described as dangerous, immoral, an obstacle to achieving justice, and a concept that may perpetuate patriarchal norms (Daly & Stubbs, 2006; Lamb, 2002). Whereas RJ reduces the survivor’s anger at the wrongdoer and can channel it toward forgiveness (Nascimento et al, 2022; Rossner, 2019), the feminist approach views anger as a legitimate emotion that is essential in the perception of the phenomenon (Ptacek, 2010). Forgiveness, and its counterpart apology, are considered undesirable and potentially risky in cases of intimate partner violence, due to the cyclic nature of the phenomenon (Daly & Stubbs, 2006).…”

“…Most empirical knowledge assesses recidivism rates and the participants' degree of satisfaction (Sherman et al, 2015;Weatherburn & Macadam, 2013). In general, studies have found that survivors who took part in RJ processes were positively affected (Nascimento et al, 2022) and satisfied with the process (Latimer et al, 2005). Satisfaction stemmed from the acknowledgment and validation of the harm, the RP's apology, the opportunity to be heard and ask questions, and a sense of emotional healing and closure (Umbreit & Armour, 2011).…”

Separating the “Deed” From the “Done-To”: How Communicating With the Offender Can Change Victims’ Self-Concept

“…Some victims experience reduction in symptoms of trauma ( Angel et al, 2014 ; Lloyd & Borrill, 2020 ). A recent systematic review identified 35 studies which documented psychological change as a result of restorative justice interventions ( Nascimento et al, 2022 ), ranging from changes in perceptions of the offender, to closure and recovery.…”