Survivor hopes Restorative Justice will help her reclaim sense of control and empowerment over man who raped her
A survivor from Merseyside is hoping that coming face to face with the man who raped her will allow her to take back a s...
Restorative Approaches and Violence Reduction
Gary Stephenson, Executive Chairman of Restorative Solutions, is the author of a new paper which looks into Restorative Approaches and Violence Reduction. Here is an excerpt from the paper in which Gary explores why a restorative justice approach can help both the recovery of victims and reduce the likelihood of reoffending:
There is now a considerable evidence-base supporting the use of RJ in the criminal justice context. A summary of the evidence presented here examines four main areas of impact: effects on victims, effects on re-offending, financial implications, and getting cases brought to justice. A full reference list is attached at Appendix A.
Impact of Restorative Justice Conference on victims of crime
• 72% of RJ victims were either satisfied or very satisfied; much higher than conventional approaches
• There was an 85% satisfaction rate with face-to-face RJ conferencing
• 78% would recommend RJ conferencing to others
• RJ conferences led to 49% fewer cases of victims with clinical levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms
• There were 36% fewer symptoms of post- traumatic stress in general
• 62% of victims in the UK studies said that RJ had made them feel better
• A greater proportion of RJ victims said that they felt more secure after their case had been dealt with, compared to victims who experienced the court process only
• Only 5% of RJ victims believed that their offender would commit the same offence against them
• RJ provided 72% of victims with some degree of closure, thus enabling them to move on from the offence
• ‘Face to face interaction and getting to know what the other party is like’ has been shown to bring strong benefits to victims of crime where they are willing to engage in RJ
Effects on Reoffending
• 7% to 45% fewer repeat offences over the two years following RJ conference
• There are 22% fewer re-convictions following a RJ conference
Financial Implications
• RJ is estimated to have saved the criminal justice system nearly twice as much money as the scheme’s cost.
• There is an £8 saving for the Criminal Justice Sector for every pound spent, and this excludes health savings.
You can download and read the full paper
here
