How Can Victim Offender Mediation Challenge Social Injustice?

Source: (2003) VOMA Connections no. 16 (Winter): 5. Downloaded 19 May 2004.

As a nation, claims Lois Presser, the United States dedicates more attention and resources to crime than to other types of injustice. Yet crimes are the result of, and otherwise linked with, exploitative relations in general, she argues. In view of all of this, she raises the possibility that victim offender mediation (VOM) might challenge, not only particular crimes, but also more general forms of injustice. In particular Presser points to the way VOM can foster “collective reflection.â€? A VOM process may begin with a focus on the specific incident and the offender’s individual responsibility for the incident. However, the dialogue in a VOM may eventually turn to other, broader injustices. Presser cites an example from a VOM meeting she observed to explain more concretely how such collective reflection may provide at least a forum for clarifying and reflecting on social injustices beyond crime.