Restorative Justice Responses to Sexual Violence: Perspectives and Experiences of Participating Persons Responsible and Persons Harmed

Figures & data

Table 1. Preparation for restorative justice.

	N(%)
	Person Harmed N = 34 (92)	Person Responsible N = 23 (96)
Engagement with the process^a
In person with a Project Restore case worker^b	33 (97)	22 (96)
By telephone with a Project Restore case worker	22 (65)	10 (43)
By Skype or other audio-visual media with a Project Restore case worker	3 (9)	5 (22)
Types of restorative process participated^a
Restorative conference	30 (88)	19 (83)
Shuttle mediation	2 (6)	0 (0)
Facilitated meeting between person harmed and person responsible	9 (26)	6 (26)
Represented by a Project Restore case worker in a community panel	0 (0)	3 (13)
How long since restorative process?
Within the last month	6 (18)	3 (13)
Within the last 3 months	11 (32)	7 (30)
Within the last 6 months	14 (41)	6 (26)
Within the last year	1 (3)	7 (30)
More than a year ago	2 (5.9)	0 (0)

^aMultiple answers allowed.

^bCase workers include restorative justice facilitators, survivor specialists and accountability specialists.

Table 2. Persons harmed – perspectives on their input during preparation.

	N(%) N = 33 (89)
	“Yes” to “Mostly”	“Not Sure”	“No” to “Not Really”
Contributed to deciding which restorative process you would like	24 (73)	4 (12)	5 (15)
Relevant people invited to attend the restorative process	33 (100)	0 (0)	0 (0)

Table 3. Persons harmed – perspectives on the restorative justice process.

	N(%)N = 33 (89)
	“Yes” to “Mostly”	“Not Sure”	“Not Really” to “No”
Able to ask all the questions you wanted to ask during the restorative process	32 (97)	0 (0)	1 (3)
Your questions were answered	30 (91)	1 (3)	2 (6)
Satisfied with the overall level of input you had in the restorative process	30 (91)	0 (0)	3 (9)
Satisfied with the information you found out about the offending	28 (85)	1 (3)	4 (12)
Your needs were taken into consideration as agreements were made	28 (85)	3 (9)	2 (6)

Table 4. Persons harmed – perspectives on engagement from persons responsible.

	N(%)
	N	%	“Yes”	“Partly”	“No”
During the restorative process, did the person who harmed you?
Apologise for the harm they caused you	32	86	29 (91)	3 (9)	0 (0)
Admit that what they did was wrong	32	86	25 (78)	7 (22)	0 (0)
Answer questions asked of them by you or others	32	86	25 (78)	6 (19)	1 (3)
Take responsibility for the harm they caused	32	86	23 (72)	9 (28)	0 (0)
Apologise for the harm they caused others	32	86	23 (72)	6 (19)	3 (9.4)
Explain why they sexually harmed you	31	84	8 (26)	15 (48.4)	8 (26)
Minimise their sexually harmful behavior	28	76	5(18)	7 (25)	16 (57)

Table 5. Person harmed – perspectives on responses to their story.

	N	%	“Yes” to “Mostly”	“Partly” to “No”
Did anyone challenge your story?	31	84	2 (6)	29 (94)
Able to describe the impacts on your life	30	81	29 (97)	1 (3)
			“Yes” to “Somewhat”	“No”
Did the person who harmed you listen to your story?	31	84	30 (97)	1 (3)
			Yes	No
During the restorative process, did you feel you were believed?	33	89	31 (94)	2 (6)

Table 6. Persons harmed – perspectives on person responsible putting things right.

	N(%)N = 34 (92)
	“Yes”	“Not Sure”	“No”
Did the person who harmed you make any attempts to put things right?	23 (68)	3 (9)	8 (24)

Table 7. Persons responsible – admission of guilt in court.

	N(%)
	N	%	“Yes”	“No”
Did you plead guilty prior to participating in the restorative justice?	25	90	20 (80)	5 (20)
Did you feel pressured to plead guilty?	18	22	4 (15)	14 (52)

Table 8. Persons responsible – engagement with the restorative justice process.

	N(%)
	N	%	“Yes”	“No”
Did you want to acknowledge accountability?	22	79	21 (95)	1 (5)
Did you acknowledge responsibility for the harm caused during the restorative process?	21	75	20 (95)	1 (5)
Did you apologize for the harm caused during the restorative process?	20	71	20 (100)	0 (0)

Table 9. Persons harmed – reflections on restorative justice experience.

	N(%)
	N	%	Yes	No
Met with the Project Restore caseworkers to debrief	34	92	25 (74)	9 (26)
Debriefing with the Project Restore caseworkers helpful	23	62	21 (91)	2 (9)
Restorative justice provided you with a “sense of closure”	32	86	29 (91)	3 (9)
Restorative justice provided you with a “sense of justice”	34	92	27 (80)	7 (21)

Table 10. Persons responsible – satisfaction in relation to justice interventions.

	N (%) N = 19 (68)
	Court appearance	Restorative Justice
Considering all the processes you have experienced in relation to justice, which did you feel was the most satisfying?	2 (11)	17 (89)

Table 11. Persons responsible – perspective of support from accountability specialists.

Did you feel supported by the accountability specialist …	N	%	Yes	No
In the preparation stage?	21	75	21 (100)	0 (0)
During the process itself?	20	71	19 (95)	1 (5)
After the restorative process?	20	71	18 (90)	2 (10)

Table 12. Persons responsible – perspectives on the process.

	N (%)N = 19 (75)
When you participated in the restorative process …	“Yes” to “Mostly”	“No”
Understand the purpose of the restorative process	21 (100)	0 (0)
Treated fairly	19 (90)	2 (10)
Treated with respect	20 (95)	1 (5)
Had a voice	19 (90)	2 (5)