Restorative Justice Experiences Involving Child Victims

The previous chapter has argued that the rights and needs of children who have been victimized are not fully met when their cases are handled by the criminal justice system. Child victims need and deserve to take active part in the process that follows their victimization, or at least to have the choice to decide not to take part in it. Child victims need and deserve a fair process in which they are treated with respect, their specific needs, interests and wishes are considered and their rehabilitation is a central concern. Possible specific needs of child victims might be having a group discussion whereby their harm is acknowledged, their behavior validated, the perpetrator apologizes and reparation is negotiated. The criminal justice process, as shown in chapter 4, completely neglects many of these needs– rights, fails to address some of them even when considered, and often traumatizes children through their exposure to an unfriendly process as witnesses. In contrast, restorative justice fits well, at least ostensibly, the needs–rights model for child victims. As this chapter shows, restorative justice offers an environment where, at least in theory, victims are provided an opportunity to have significant control over the process that follows their victimization and its outcomes by being active partners in it. The victim’s family, friends and significant others are invited and encouraged to provide support, both during and after the process. The participants ideally listen to the victim’s story, acknowledge the harm and validate the victim’s behavior. Issues of self–blame have the potential of being resolved as the victim is given an opportunity to discuss his or her behavior with sympathetic listeners. At the same time, offenders are expected to take full responsibility for the harm they have caused the victim, and ideally to apologize. Moreover, the flexible, creative nature of restorative justice allows a range of different processes and accommodations to meet the needs and varying coping preferences of different children, according to their age and specific needs. Moreover, restorative justice might hold particular potential for young victims. The studies discussed in Chapter 3 by Call and Mortimer (2001) and Seiffge-Krenke (1995), for example, support the claim that restorative justice may provide an opportunity for different arenas of comfort to be strengthened and for new, or perhaps