Victim impact of meeting with young offenders: Two decades of victim offender mediation practice and research.

Source: (2001) In Restorative justice for juveniles: Conferencing, mediation and circles, ed. Allison Morris and Gabrielle Maxwell, 121-143. With a foreword by DJ Carruthers. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

In this chapter the authors review a number of empirical studies to address the impact of victim offender mediation (VOM) on the victims of crimes perpetrated by juvenile offenders. They begin with a brief history of VOM, a sketch of its scope, and a description of VOM. This leads to the core theme of the chapter – the impact of VOM on victims of crimes committed by young people. Employing information from research studies, they explore key matters, such as the following: the interest crime victims have in meeting offenders; the issue of voluntary participation for victims; preparation of the victim for meeting the offender; the question whether victims are satisfied by the juvenile system’s response; and the question whether victims are satisfied with VOM. The authors conclude with remarks on victims’ response to VOM, implications for the practice of VOM, and suggestions for further research in this area.