Author Description

Restorative Justice Aims To Address The Consequences Of Crime By Encouraging Victims And Offenders To Communicate And Discuss The Harm Caused By The Crime That Has Been Committed. In The Majority Of Cases, Restorative Justice Is Facilitated By Direct And Indirect Dialogue Between Victims And Offenders, But It Also Includes Support Networks And Sometimes Involves Professionals Such As Police, Lawyers, Social Workers Or Prosecutors And Judges. In Theory, The Victim Is A Core Participant In Restorative Justice And The Restoration Of The Harm Is A First Concern. In Practice, Questions Arise As To Whether The Victim Is Actively Involved In The Process, What Restoration May Entail, Whether There Is A Risk Of Secondary Victimization And Whether The Victim Is Truly At The Heart Of The Restorative Response, Or Whether The Offender Remains The Focal Point Of Attention. Using A Combination Of Victimological Literature And Empirical Data From A European Research Project, This Book Considers The Role And The Position Of The Victim In Restorative Justice Practices, Focusing On Legislative, Organizational And Institutional Frameworks Of Victim-offender Mediation And Conferencing Programmes At A National And Local Level, As Well As The Victims' Personal Needs And Experiences. The Findings Are Essential Reading For Academics And Students Engaged In The Study Of Justice, Victimology And Law. The Publication Will Also Be Valuable To Policy-makers And Professionals Such As Social Workers, Lawyers And Mediators--page Iii. General Introduction / Daniela Bolívar, Inge Vanfraechem, Ivo Aertsen -- Victims' Victimization Experiences And Their Need For Justice / Antony Pemberton, Inge Vanfraechem -- Restorative Justice And Victims Of Crime / Inge Vanfraechem, Daniela Bolívar -- Methodology Of A Comparative European Research / Inge Vanfraechem, Daniela Bolívar -- Victims' Experiences In Victim-offender Mediation In Austria: The 'real' Entry / Leo Matteo Bachinger, Christa Pelikan -- Restorative Justice And Partner Violence: Victims' Views Of Finnish Practice / Päivi Honkatukia -- Changing Frames? Restorative Justice In The Netherlands / Antony Pemberton -- Victims And Conferencing / Inge Vanfraechem -- Victims And Restorative Justice: Towards A Comparison / Daniela Bolívar, Christa Pelikan, Anne Lemonne -- The Local Practice Of Restorative Justice: Are Victims Sufficiently Involved? / Daniela Bolívar -- European Criminal Justice Policies On Victims And Restorative Justice / Katrien Lauwaert. Edited By Inge Vanfraechem, Daniela Bolívar, And Ivo Aertsen. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.