Book review: Restorative Justice and Victimology: Euro-Africa Perspectives

Published date01 September 2013
AuthorAlphonse Muleefu
DOI10.1177/0269758013492758
Date01 September 2013
Subject MatterBook reviews
unsurprisingly it concludes that not only is there still much to be done, but also that it is of the
utmost importance to ascertain why crimes of sexual violence occur in the first place.
All in all, the editors demonstrated admirable vision in gathering contributions from a variety of
disciplines to establish that interdisciplinarity is a necessary step to further progress in the
prosecution of crimes of sexual violence. Cooperation and understanding the needs of different dis-
ciplines can only be constructive.
The overall quality of the book is excellent, although some parts will, of course, be of greater
interest than others. On a slightly critical note, I would have liked to read further contributions from
non-legal academics and practitioners. However, as an attempt to provide a holistic approach to the
subject, the work is to be greatly welcomed and should provide a fine starting point for similar
cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary initiatives in the future.
Don John O Omale
Restorative Justice and Victimology: Euro-Africa Perspectives
Wolf Legal Publishers, 2012. 240 pp. ISBN: 978 9058508614
Reviewed by: Alphonse Muleefu, International Victimology Institute Tilburg (INTERVICT), the Netherlands
Restorative Justice and Victimology: Euro-Africa Perspectives is indeed an important study for
individuals and institutions interested in learning about victims’ perceptions about restorative
justice. It is written in a concise manner that is understandable by both professionals and layper-
sons. Dr Don John O Omale provides an in-depth analysis of theoretical and philosophical reasons
for and against restorative justice. The richness of the book is that, after a literature analysis, it
provides a comprehensive discussion of other empirical studies around the globe and Africa in
particular, in addition to a qualitative and quantitative analysis of views from Nigerian criminal
justice professionals and victims.
The researcher shows persuasively that victims are more interested in restorative justice to
reconstruct interpersonal relationships and reconciliation with offenders as opposed to the desire
for vengeance. He shows that the majority of victims (rural and urban respondents) and criminal
justice professionals, irrespective of their demographic differences (age, education, gender, and
belief), perceive restorative justice as an alternative to criminal justice (punitive justice). He
demonstrates that the overwhelming majority support restorative justice because of perceived fail-
ures of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. For victims, among other things, restorative justice
can be: less expensive; expeditious; contribute to reconciliation, peace and harmony; heal the
wounds of the crime; encourage truth telling and reparation; and enable a victim’s voice to be
heard. Criminal justice professionals equally think that restorative justice can be expeditious,
reconcile the offender with the victim, teach offenders to understand victims, prevent crimes,
decongest prisons, and encourage truth telling, among other things.
What makes Restorative Justice and Victimology: Euro-Africa Perspectives an interesting work
is the honesty of the researcher in recognizing its weaknesses. The sample size of 151 respondents
(74 victims and 77 criminal justice professionals) is a small number to represent the views of
Nigeria a country of about 140 million people with about 300 ethnic groups. Accordingly, its
contribution to the African perspective about restorative justice is somewhat limited. The
336 International Review of Victimology 19(3)
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