When a crime is committed and an individual is caught in the act, there is a set process that one follows to adhere to the rules of the criminal justice system. This method can be simplified by looking at the common flow of events: (1) an individual is arrested, (2) individual is brought to court, (3) individual receives a punishment. Though it may appear that the way in which the criminal justice system functions is sufficient, many voice the concern that there are certain key players affected by crimes that are consistently disregarded. These players are otherwise known as the victims and the community. As a result, many have hypothesized a new approach to justice that incorporate all aspects of crime. This approach is one that simultaneously
Most of the time this results in prison sentencing. But when the only action is to lock people up, it doesn’t require that the individual act in a certain way, or change. Instead, it excuses the offender from answering for what they have done or punishes them in a way that does not consider the individual criminal and his or her crimes on others and such crimes impact on the overall community. Restorative justice is a victim-led process to hold offenders accountable while concurrently fulfilling the needs of all parties involved (Keenan and Joyce, 2013). This essay will critically evaluate the guiding principles of restorative justice, and more specifically look at the benefits of applying this method to sexual violence and domestic violence cases; this will be done by examining common procedures and guidelines, understanding the strengths and weaknesses, and observing specific case
Though there are core principles and guidelines, the way each case is handled is heavily based on context. The main objectives that drive restorative justice practices in sexual violence cases are “reparation, retribution, and rehabilitation of the community” (Wolthuis et al., 2015). Restorative justice seeks to find a way that “maximizes healing for all parties and minimizes the chance of the process inadvertently causing harm” (Restorative justice standards for sexual offending cases, 2013). Particularly in sexual violence cases, the primary focus in a restorative justice case is to lower the potential chances of harm. The principles are set in place to allow the victim to have a chance to hold the offender accountable while having the opportunity to voice one's story. Multiple studies have shown that giving the victim a voice provides a sense of closure needed to heal. Often times, the traditional court setting doesn’t allow for the victim to directly express the entire story (Daly,