Empathic Encounter: The Relationship Between Self-Reported Empathy, Process, and Outcome in a Restorative Justice Program

Source: (2003) VOMA Connections no. 16 (Winter): 1, 6, 8-12. Downloaded 19 May 2004.

Research on victim offender mediation programs indicates that participation increases the victim’s satisfaction with the justice system and reduces offender recidivism, writes Harrison Braxton. Yet little research has been done on how this mediation process actually works. Given this lack, Braxton explores several important questions about the nature and process of victim-offender mediation: to what extent the victim-offender meeting was an empathic ordeal; to what extent the offender evidenced shame, remorse, and empathy for the victim; and how the victim and community panel worked to reintegrate the offender.