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Beyond conflict resolution: Towards a restorative process for sexual violence.

Jülich, Shirley
June 4, 2015

Source: (2010) Te Awatea Review. The Journal of Te Awatea Violence Research Centre. 8(1&2):21-25.

In this article, we explore whether confict resolution and restorative justice are able to address sexual violence. There are similarities between confict resolution and restorative justice in that both bring stakeholders together to determine a mutually acceptable outcome,but they do not share the same philosophical positions. Crime is not a conflict to be resolved, neither is it a dispute. The language of conflict resolution and its emphasis on neutral third-party facilitators is problematic for sexual violence.Although restorative justice and its focus on community might offer more promise, its “one size fits all” approach ignores the complex dynamics of sexual violence and restorative justice. Further, there are limited safeguards to ensure that societal structures, fostering the sexual violation of vulnerable people,are not merely replicated. (Author’s abstract)

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