Restorative Justice in Responding to Sexual Offending: A Web Review
The use of restorative justice in response to certain crimes requires special expertise and careful preparation. Sexual offending is one area that raises many questions. There are concerns about revictimization, power imbalances, the return of sex offenders to the community, and the prevention of reoffending. Nevertheless, many programmes are working in this area.
Below is a bibliography of online sources discussing the possibilities and limitations of restorative responses to sexual offending.[1]
Abuse
As indicated in the title, Judie and Michael Bopp developed this manual to assist front-line community workers, especially those in Aboriginal communities, to deal more effectively with issues around sexual abuse disclosures. It is not a comprehensive volume covering all aspects of sexual abuse. Rather, it focuses on a specific aspect of this very complex and critical social problem, namely, the disclosure phase. The manual is intended to help community workers understand more clearly the many factors which must be considered when dealing with disclosures of sexual abuse and to ensure that the needs of everyone affected by the situation are being addressed. In the manual the authors offer information on the following topics: a brief introduction to community-based approaches to dealing with abuse; guidelines for facilitating disclosures of abuse and investigating allegations; issues and needs of those affected by abuse (e.g., the victim, the victim’s family, the abuser, the abuser’s family, the community, and the justice system); and suggestions and guidelines for planning the healing and restoration of balance after a disclosure of abuse.
The author describes the work of healing circles (akin to community
and family conferences) in a Native community in Canada to deal with
cases of sexual abuse. She describes in detail the participants,
principles, procedures, and desired objectives (e.g., accountability,
healing, restitution, reconciliation) of a Community Holistic Circle
Healing model involving offenders, victims, family members, community
members and leaders, social services professionals, and government
criminal justice officials (crown attorneys and judges). Community
Holistic Circle Healing is providing a concrete alternative to the
standard Canadian criminal justice process for dealing with
offenses.
Julich,
Shirley. (2000). The irony of restorative justice. Paper
presented at the Just Peace? Peace Making and Peace Building for the
New Millennium conference, held in Auckland, New Zealand, 24-28 April.
Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University, School of Social and Cultural
Studies, Centre for Justice and Peace Development.
The dynamics of child sex abuse for its victims are complex and
often contradictory. Some have theorized that “Stockholm Syndrome” can
occur with victims of abuse. Stockholm Syndrome refers to the strange
and contradictory relationship and identification that can develop on
the part of hostages with their captors. In this paper, Shirley Julich
investigates this syndrome and the complexity of recovery from abuse to
assist practitioners of restorative justice in their preparation for
and facilitation of restorative justice conferences involving adult
victims of child sex abuse and their abusers.
McGrath,
Carla M. (2000). Using Alternative Dispute Resolution to Respond to
Indian Residential School Abuse. Dispute Resolution in Law Studies
Award Papers. Canadian Forum on Civil Justice. 20 February
2003.
Roman Catholic, Anglican, and United Churches of Canada directed residential schools for aboriginal children from the 1840s to 1984. Funded by the federal government, the purpose of the schools was to assimilate aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian society. Conditions at the schools were generally poor and damaging to the children. The adverse conditions often included physical and sexual abuse. In recent years, thousands of victims have been filing civil actions against the churches and the federal government to enforce accountability and seek healing and redress. Carla McGrath expresses great sympathy with the perspectives and needs of the victims, but wonders whether civil litigation can achieve an appropriate and meaningful resolution of the issues. She contends that designing an alternative dispute resolution system to handle the civil litigation would be a more appropriate and meaningful option for victims and accused. Toward this end, she discusses the legal aspects of the problem, the parties’ interests and goals, alternative dispute resolution, and design issues and recommendations.
In response to instances of sexual abuse in an Ojibway community in
Canada, a group of social service providers developed an alternate
response to the criminal offences based at least in part on Native
principles and practices. The accused may choose the normal criminal
justice process or this alternate process. This latter process,
involving the offender, victim, family members, and community members,
includes criminal charging, the offender's acceptance and disclosure of
his or her guilt, a Healing Contract, a Cleansing Ceremony, and often
alternate sentencing.
Welfare,
Anne And Miller, Robyn. (1999). A confrontative interview for
victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse: An alternative to an apology
that reverses power differentials in a therapeutic way. Paper
presented at the Restoration for Victims of Crime Conference.
Australian Institute of Criminology and Victims Referral and Assistance
Service. Melbourne
In their work with victims of sexual abuse, Welfare and Miller use a confrontational interview technique developed in response to the feminist critique of family therapy in the area of sexual abuse. They use this technique in an attempt to redress issues of power and control in the victim-perpetrator relationship. To explain this technique the authors contrast it with an apology interview. They also summarize research (e.g., method and results) related to the confrontational interview technique. The paper concludes with cautions and critical recommendations by Welfare and Miller with respect to using this technique.
Juvenile Sex Offenders
Baptista, Daniela And Wood, Catherine. (2002). Evaluating the SayStop Diversion Programme: Findings From the First Follow-up Study. University of Cape Town, Institute of Criminology and Dept. of Psychology. Down loaded 25 June 2003.
This longitudinal study evaluates the outcomes and impact of the
diversion programme developed and piloted on three occasions by SAYStOP
(South African Young Sex Offenders Project) between 1997 and 1999.
Method. The study set out to determine the effectiveness of the
programme through gauging recidivism rates, assessing the impact of the
programme content, and exploring the children’s experience of attending
the diversion programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with
children, who had attended one of the initial three SAYStOP diversion
programmes and their caregivers. The interviews were conducted after a
minimum time period of twelve month had past since their completion of
the programme. Research problems resulted in only six of the 28 boys
being interviewed. Results. The results suggested that SAYStOP had
developed an intervention useful for holding children who have
committed sexual offences accountable and providing them with an
opportunity to reflect on their abusive behaviour. The sessions
appeared to be fairly successful in accomplishing their individual aims
and objectives. In particular, the children assessed seemed to have
developed insight into their victim’s feelings and realised the
importance of responsible decision-making. Group work seemed to be
necessary and a beneficial aspect. None of the children interviewed
reported any sexual re-offending subsequent to attending the programme.
The study highlighted numerous research and methodological difficulties
inherent in this type of longitudinal evaluation study. These problems
and recommendations for future follow-up studies are discussed.
Conclusion. This study, while limited, provides initial support for the
continued use of the SAYStOP diversion programme when dealing with
certain types of children accused of committing sexual offences.
Authors' Abstract.
Doig,
Marnie And Wallace, Ben. (1999). Sexual Offending and Restorative
Justice: The Challenge for Family Conferencing Practice in South
Australia. Paper presented at the Restoration for Victims of Crime
Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in
conjunction with Victims Referral and Assistance Service and held in
Melbourne, September 1999. Australian Institute of Criminology. Down
loaded 12 July 2003.
The authors of this presentation discuss family conferencing in
South Australia, with emphasis on how victim-offender mediation has
come to be used in juvenile jurisdiction to deal with sexual offences.
Based on their experience and expertise in this sphere, and orienting
the nature of their paper for practitioners, Doig and Wallace provide
background to the history and jurisdiction of the Family Conference
Team, review statistics regarding sexual offences dealt with at family
conferences, and cover the process and challenges in victim-offender
mediation in sexual matters.
Wood,
Catherine And Ehlers, Louise. (2001). Towards a Viable Diversion
Programme for Young Sex Offenders In South Africa. Social Justice
Research Project. Institute Of Criminology, University of Capetown.
Downloaded 25 June 03.
The extent and seriousness of sexual abuse of children by other
children has only recently been recognised as a problem in South
Africa. As a result, children are seldom prosecuted or held accountable
for their abusive behaviour. Furthermore, those who are prosecuted
often receive postponed or suspended community service sentences due to
an absence of appropriate sentencing options. In response, SAYStOP
(South African Young Sex Offenders Project) was formed for the purpose
of developing innovative and effective interventions to treat and
manage young sex offenders. This paper outlines both the process
involved in the development of an appropriate diversion programme and
the implementation strategy adopted to ensure the long-term viability
of this programme. Initially, the extent and nature of the problem in
South Africa is briefly sketched. A description of the process involved
in the development of the diversion programme follows. In this
discussion, the focus is on the content and structure of this
programme. Emphasis is placed on the uniqueness of the South African
context and the challenges faced in dealing with issues such as
poverty, rural/urban disparity, cultural differences, language barriers
and varying levels of literacy. The second part of the paper focuses on
the implementation of the diversion programme. Here, the initial
piloting of the programme through one district court and the subsequent
pilot expansion to twelve further magisterial districts are examined.
This extension process presented a new series of challenges. The manner
in which these were addressed in order to ensure the relevance and
sustainability of the project is analysed. Finally, the lessons learnt
throughout this process are examined, concluding with recommendations
for the future development of this project. Authors' Abstract.
Offender Reintegration
Correctional Services of Canada. (2002). Circles of Support and Accountability: A Guide To Training Potential Volunteers. Training manual 2002. Chaplaincy. Correctional Services of Canada. Downloaded 15 April 2003.
Circles of Support & Accountability represent an innovative
response to a controversial social issue in our society. The purpose of
this manual is to assist in the training of volunteers who are willing
to become a part of a Circle of Support and Accountability for warrant
expiry sex offenders. This document is also an initial attempt at a
distillation of the work and wisdom of many individuals across Canada
who have worked with this still relatively new initiative. Its creation
was occasioned by a recognition of the increasing need to develop
greater consistency in the process and standards of orienting and
training potential volunteers and professionals.
Correctional Services of Canada. (1996). Community reintegration
project. InterActive Corrections (December).
The Community Reintegration Project is an initiative to reduce the
risk of re-offense by individuals convicted of sexual offenses, assist
with their transition into the community, and address the fears of
victims. The Mennonite Central Committee (Ontario), under an agreement
with Correctional Services Canada, is the sponsor for this pilot
project. The principal mode of providing reintegration assistance is
through support groups or Circles of Support for sex offenders
re-entering the community. The Circles of Support consist of volunteers
primarily from the faith community. The ex-offender must commit to the
Circle and its advice and help, pursue a predetermined course of
treatment, and act responsibly in the community. Mediating between
police, media, and the community-at-large, the Circle provides
intensive support for the ex-offender. This document provides
background to the project, a description of the problem, and principles
and practices for developing and providing a Circle of Support.
The author writes about a program – Circles of Support and
Accountability (CSA) – designed to enhance the safety of the community
and reduce the risk of re-offence by released sex-offenders. To
complement the restorative focus on the offender, he urges more
programs that address the stated needs of victims/survivors, and he
urges greater victim/survivor participation in existing programs, such
as CSA. These steps, he believes, will move in the direction of a
fuller and truer expression of restorative justice principles.
Sexual Assault
Avalon Sexual Assault Centre. (1999). Formal Response of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre to the N.S. Department of Justice. RE: The Restorative Justice Program. Submitted to the N.S. Department of Justice, Restorative Justice Programme, September 1999. 28 October 2002. Hot Peach Pages.
In June 1998 the Nova Scotia Department of Justice introduced a restorative justice program for Nova Scotia. According to policy guidelines, cases of sexual and domestic violence are only to be referred to restorative justice processes at the post-conviction, pre-sentence phase. This report by staff of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre expresses many questions and concerns about the use of restorative justice processes in such cases. Based on their experiences in dealing with abusive, violent situations, they maintain that sexual assault crimes are incompatible with the restorative justice model in its current form. In this regard, they also pose questions and make recommendations concerning community ownership, volunteerism, informal cautions and warnings, project timing, and research and analysis.
Daly, Kathleen. (2002). Sexual assault and restorative justice. In Restorative justice and family violence, ed. Heather Strang and John Braithwaite, 62-88. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kathleen Daly looks at the question whether restorative justice is
appropriate in cases of sexual violence. She cautions at the outset of
her essay that the problem of responding justly to such cases-
refraining from punitive responses that further brutalize perpetrators
without appearing to accept their violent behavior - is ultimately
unsolvable. Yet, because sexual assaults occur, Daly pursues the
problem in terms of its two components: how to treat harms as serious
without harsh forms of punishment or hyper-criminalization? and how to
do justice in an unequal society? She contends there may be a way
forward in addressing the problem of responding justly if three things
are done, which she explores in this essay: (1) rehabilitate
“retribution” and make it part of restorative justice processes; (2)
redefine the harm of rape, other forms of gendered harms, and violence
more generally; and (3) recognize the variety of meanings and contexts
of sexual violence, domestic violence, and family violence. To
illustrate her points, she discusses a number of cases of sexual
assault in South Australia disposed of by conferencing.
Koss, Mary And Bachar, Karen J And Hopkins, C. Quince. (2003). Restorative Justice For Sexual Violence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 989: 384-396. Restore Program. Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health. Downloaded 23 October 2003.
Problems in criminal justice system response to date and
acquaintance rape, and the nonpenetration sexual offenses are
identified: (1) these crimes are often markers of a career of sexual
offense, yet they are widely viewed as minor; (2) perpetrators of these
crimes are now held accountable in ways that reduce their future threat
of sex offending; and (3) current criminal justice response to these
crimes disappoints and traumatizes victims and families. In response to
these identified problems, we are implementing and evaluating RESTORE,
an innovative, victim-driven, community-based restorative justice
program. Restorative justice views crime as harm for which the person
responsible must be held accountable in meaningful ways. RESTORE uses a
community conference to involve the victim, offender, and both parties'
family and friends in a face-to-face dialogue directed at identifying
the harm and developing a plan for repair, rehabilitation, and
reintegration into the community.
[1] These resources were all found in the research database found at http://www.restorativejustice.org/asp/Advanced_search.asp. For more information please search the database to find resources on restorative responses to sexual offending that are not found on the web.
November 2003
