Restorative Justice

• What is the difference between previous ways of dealing with offending and restorative justice?

  It switches the emphasis from the needs of the state ( through law & punishment ) to the needs of the individual survivor
• What term is used instead of victim?

  Survivor
• How are restorative justice programmes set up?

  With a trained mediator to supervise, survivor & offenders voluntarily meet online/face-to-face in a non courtroom setting
• What is the aim of the survivor during restorative justice?

  To explain how the incident affected them and why
• What must the survivor & offender be in order for restorative justice to result in a good outcome for both?


  Actively involved and positive
• Who else may it include besides the survivor?

  Other relevant community member eg: partner or parents
• What are the 3 key aspects of restorative justice?

  Offender responsibility

  Victim reparation

  Building communities of care & reconcillation
• What are the 2 ways restorative justice can occur?

  Pre-trial

  During prison sentence with an incentive to reduce sentence
• What is restitution?


  Payment (monetary or other) made by offender to survIvor for the harm caused by the offence they committed
• What are the 3 forms of restitution?

  Emotion reconciliation

  Monetary

  Hard-labour
• How does restorative justice benefit the survivor?

  Heals by repairing & rebuilding what they lost due to the offence instead of just seeking vengence
• What is the Restorative Justice Council?

  A body of people that establish the clear standards for restorative justice to support survivors and provide people with specialist training.
• What does the Restorative Justice Council advocate for?

  Restorative justice to be used beyond crime in all conflict management situations in institutions
• What are the finding to support the positive outcomes for restorative justice?

  85% survivors report satisfaction

  78% survivors would recommend the process

  60% survivors said it helped

  2 % survivors said it worsened the situation
• How may restorative justice be abused by prisoners?

  If intentions are not honourable they may use it to avoid punishment, play down their faults and take pride in their ability to contact their victim
• Who did a study on recidivism rates for restorative justice?

  Strang et al
• What did Strang et al find?

  He did a meta analysis.

  Found restorative justice was more likely to reduce reoffending rates when compared to custodial sentencing
• For which crimes is restorative justice unsuitable for?

  Domestic Violence
• Why are domestic violence cases not suited to restorative justice?

  There is a pre-established power imbalance between abuser & the victim so pressures the victim into submission during the mediation stages.

  Reinforces the control rather than helping