By Kieran McCartan, Ph.D., & David S. Prescott, LICSW
The field of sexual abuse can be emotionally charged,
challenging, and often causes us to reflect on our lives and actions. There are
times when professionals draw lines (quite often artificial) between people who
work with those who have harmed and those that have been harmed. It is common
to hear that professionals in each field have different agendas and want
different things, to the point of being at loggerheads. We disagree, even as we
acknowledge that it can sometimes appear that way when we make snap judgments
of others without really understanding where they are coming from.
Instead, we would say that the “victim side” and the
“offender side,” as they are often called, want the same thing (i.e., the abuse
to stop, victims to be support and people who have offended to be held
accountable and manage their risk moving forward). The real difference is in
the perspectives they bring to their daily work. One area of rehabilitation and
therapeutic work in the wake of sexual abuse that brings these sides together
is Restorative Justice. We have discussed Restorative Justice on the blog before
and recognize the sensitives it involves and the process for both sets of
participants, so this is not a rehashing of old ground but rather an opportunity
to discuss new research and practice. As much as any approach, Restorative
Justice shows that there aren’t different “sides” to the issues, but diverse
roles that we can all play in our attempts to end sexual violence.
Scotland has always had a reputation for being forward
thinking in its approaches to health, justice, risk, and risk management, particularly
in the areas of sexual abuse, drugs/alcohol, and youth crime. Recently, there
has been momentum in Scotland to understand the role that Restorative Justice
can play in helping to repair the damage created by sexual abuse. In 2021, a
nationwide consultation was led by Thriving Survivors (with a
number of other organizations across the sector) on with survivors of
Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence to Establish Awareness, Opinion, and Demand
Related to the Ongoing Development of a National Restorative Justice Policy and
Practice Framework for Scotland. The consultation highlighted “the
importance for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence that their
voices are heard and that they have a choice related to how they deal with the
aftermath of their victimization, including access to Restorative Justice.” This
resulted in a series of recommendations including more research, development,
and consultation on the issue, which led to the publication of a second report
with some of the key players from the original, published last week, called “Restorative
Justice & Sexual Harm: the voices of those who have harmed”.
The new report is based on a mixed-methods research design
with people convicted of sexual offenses and their views on the relevance, use,
and impact of Restorative Justice. The research found that the 44 participants who
understood what Restorative Justice is described it as a process led by those
who have been victimized, and that if it was not handled properly, it could be retraumatizing
and activating for victims; caution is required. The participants felt that the
benefits of doing Restorative Justice, if done properly and thoughtfully,
outweighed any potential negative outcomes. This resulted in the authors
suggesting that although cases should be looked at and considered in an
individual light, they should be considered as people who can understand, be receptive
to, and benefit from the use of Restorative Justice. The report gave some key
recommendations, including that facilitators running Restorative Justice
programmes in sexual abuse cases need to be specially trained; the consent of
the participants need to be properly obtained; that the process needs to be
trauma-informed; all participants should be fully briefed on what to expect
from the process; if a traditional face-to-face approach is not appropriate
then an alternative approach should be investigated; and the cognitive ability,
neurological level, and psychological wellbeing of all participants should be
checked as well catered to throughout the process.
In many respects, this publication reinforces previous
research and policies in Restorative Justice (i.e., look at individual cases
and then tread gently), but what makes it stand out is that it has been done
with people convicted of sexual offenses. This is an important report in that
it reinforces what a lot of research in the field of sexual abuse has indicated
over the years: that people convicted of sexual offenses in the main want to understand
the harm that they have done, become accountable, and move on an offense-free
life. Additionally, this report also recognises the importance of trauma-informed
approaches to this work, indicating that men convicted of sexual offenses
offend have trauma histories that they are recovering from and that have
contributed to their offending, and therefore the restorative justice process
can help their healing.
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