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Restorative justice for victims: inherent limits?

Johnstone, Gerry

Authors

Gerry Johnstone



Abstract

Campaigners for restorative justice suggest that we should deal with criminal behaviour by encouraging those responsible to repair the harm they have caused and that those who cause and suffer harm should be at the centre of deliberation and decision making. This paper explores ‘internal’ obstacles to achieving this goal: structural weaknesses in the case for restorative justice. The focus is on contradictions in the way the campaign for restorative justice has thought about the role of victims in restorative encounters. Involvement of victims is crucial for two quite different reasons: they have an essential role to play in the reform of offenders and they need to be involved to benefit from the healing effects of restorative encounters. Tensions between these two ways of thinking about the rationale for victim involvement have been insufficiently acknowledged. This hampers the campaign for restorative justice from achieving its loftier ambitions.

Citation

Johnstone, G. (2017). Restorative justice for victims: inherent limits?. Restorative justice, 5(3), 382-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/20504721.2017.1390999

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 27, 2017
Online Publication Date Dec 13, 2017
Publication Date Sep 2, 2017
Deposit Date Jan 18, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal RESTORATIVE JUSTICE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
Print ISSN 2050-4721
Electronic ISSN 2050-473X
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Issue 3
Pages 382-395
Series ISSN 2050-4721
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/20504721.2017.1390999
Keywords Restorative justice; Victims; Offender reform; Healing
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/548134
Publisher URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20504721.2017.1390999
Additional Information Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rrej20

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