Victim impact of restorative justice conferencing with juvenile offenders: What we have learned from two decades of victim-offender dialogue through mediation and conferencing

Source: (2000) Boca Raton, Florida: Florida Atlantic University, Community Justice Institute, Balanced and Restorative Justice Project.

This draft report, a review of numerous research studies, focuses on the impact on victims of restorative justice conferencing in which they met face-to-face with the juvenile offender. The two types of conferencing considered are victim-offender mediation and family group conferencing. The authors detail the history, scope, and process of both types of conferencing, as well as the research foundations reviewed. They then analyze those research results to answer important questions about the impact of conferencing on the victim. Examples include the following. Are victims interested in meeting offenders? Is the conferencing process voluntary for victims? Are victims satisfied with conferencing? Are victims satisfied with the outcomes? The report concludes with the authors’ key observations in response to their review of the research.