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Victim’s Role in Restorative Justice: Is It Worthwhile for Them? An analysis of some restorative oriented instruments and what they can do for victims of crime. A critical perspective

Vanfraechem, Inge
June 4, 2015

Source: (2000) M.A. paper, European Criminology.

Restorative justice is a fairly new approach to doing justice. Although quite a bit of research has already been undertaken, there is still a lot to be done. This paper will look at restorative justice, some restorative instruments and what those instruments can do for the victim. The introduction offers a theoretical background for the questions that will be addressed in the discussion. In order to find out whether restorative justice can be worth while for victims, it is important to know who the victims are, what they go through, and what restorative justice entails. This way, a link can be made between victimology and restorative justice, to be able to critically assess whether restorative justice is worth while for victims. First of all, a general overview of who the victims are, will be presented in order to clearly know whom one is talking about when considering victims. The cosequences of victimisation will be outlined, to have an idea about what impact the crime can have on the victim. Three ways of doing justice are presented, namely the retributive system, the rehabilitative system and restorative justice. This way, restorative justice is not looked at in a vacuum, but linked to other existing systems. A special focus lies on what those systems can do for victims, since that is the main issue in this paper. (excerpt)

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