‘I Just Wanted Him to Hear Me’: Sexual Violence and the Possibilities of Restorative Justice
| Author | Nikki Godden,Nicole Westmarland,Clare McGlynn |
| Published date | 01 June 2012 |
| Date | 01 June 2012 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2012.00579.x |
JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY
VOLUME 39, NUMBER 2, JUNE 2012
ISSN: 0263-323X, pp. 213±40
`I Just Wanted Him to Hear Me':
Sexual Violence and the Possibilities of Restorative Justice
Clare McGlynn,* Nicole Westmarland,** and Nikki
Godden*
The use of restorative justice in cases of sexual violence is highly
contentious. Some argue that it may trivialize violence against women,
revictimize the vulnerable, and endanger the safety of victim-survivors.
On the other hand, from the perspective of victim-survivors, it may
enable us to hear their stories more holistically, offering greater
control and validation, and reduce victim-blaming. It may also provide
an additional opportunity to secure some form of justice. Debate over
the validity of these competing claims has largely taken place in an
empirical vacuum. This article considers the results of an exploratory
study of a restorative justice conference involving an adult survivor of
child rape and other sexual abuse. The results, while necessarily
tentative, provide good ground to consider afresh the possibilities of
restorative justice in cases of sexual violence. We suggest that for those
victim-survivors who wish to pursue this option, restorative justice may
offer the potential to secure some measure of justice.
The use of restorative justice in cases of sexual violence is highly
`contentious'.
1
From the perspective of victim-survivors, restorative justice
may enable us to hear victim-survivors' stories more holistically, to give
213
ß2012 The Author. Journal of Law and Society ß2012 Cardiff University Law School. Published by Blackwell Publishing
Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
*Durham Law School, Durham University, 50 North Bailey, Durham DH1
3ET, England
clare.mcglynn@durham.ac.uk n.m.godden@durham.ac.uk
** School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, 32 Old Elvet,
Durham DH1 3HN, England
nicole.westmarland@durham.ac.uk
We would like to thank the anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier
version of this article.
1 J. Brown et al., Connections and Disconnections: Assessing Evidence, Knowledge
and Practice in Responses to Rape (2010) 21.
voice to the real harms of sexual offences, helping to `name our own
experience'
2
in a manner not possible in the conventional, adversarial justice
process. It may afford victim-survivors greater control and decision making,
offering empowerment. It may encourage admissions of offending, offering
validation and, in focusing on the offender, may reduce victim-blaming.
Nonetheless, resistance comes from those who argue that it may trivialize
violence against women, re-victimize the vulnerable, and endanger the safety
of victim-survivors. Such concerns are felt particularly acutely within some
violence against women scholarly and practice communities.
3
Angela
Cameron argues, for example, that to introduce restorative justice is to
`gamble' with women's lives.
4
Similarly, Ruth Lewis et al. have suggested
that restorative conferencing is just another example of an attempt to `divert'
violence against women `away from the justice system and into the hands of
others'.
5
Debate over the validity of these competing claims has largely taken place
in an empirical vacuum. Indeed, there are no published evaluations regarding
restorative justice and sexual violence in the United Kingdom and, inter-
nationally, there is a `profound lack of empirical evidence' in the field.
6
Furthermore, the evidence that does exist reveals little about victim-survivor
experiences. To begin to remedy this gap in our knowledge, and particularly
our understanding of victim-survivor perspectives, we undertook an explora-
tory study which investigated the participants' experiences of a restorative
justice conference involving an adult survivor of child rape and other sexual
abuse. The results of this case study, while necessarily tentative, provide
good ground to consider afresh the possibilities of restorative justice in cases
of sexual violence. Finally, it may provide an additional opportunity to
secure some form of justice for those victim-survivors who wish to pursue
this option, either as an alternative, or in addition, to traditional criminal
justice interventions.
To develop this argument, we begin by examining the current political
and policy climate which is increasingly favourable towards restorative
justice generally, but has yet to give any detailed consideration to its role in
relation to sexual offences. This discussion also considers the extent to
which restorative justice is currently used in sexual offence cases in the
United Ki ngdom and t he intern ational researc h evidenc e regardi ng
214
2 L. Kelly, `What's In A Name? Defining Child Sexual Abuse' (1988) 28 Feminist
Rev. 65, at 66.
3 For detailed discussion of restorative justice and violence against women, see J.
Ptacek (ed.), Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women (2010) and H. Strang
and J. Braithwaite (eds.), Restorative Justice and Family Violence (2002).
4 A. Cameron, `Stopping the Violence' (2006) 10 Theoretical Criminology 49, at 59.
5 R. Lewis et al., `Law's Progressive Potential: The Value of Engagement with the
Law for Domestic Violence' (2001) 10 Social and Legal Studies 105, at 123.
6 K. Daly, `Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault ± An Archival Study of Court and
Conference Cases' (2006) 46 Brit. J. of Criminology 334, at 336.
ß2012 The Author. Journal of Law and Society ß2012 Cardiff University Law School
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