- Filter
- Showing 10 posts filed under: Mediation [–] [Show all]
Restorative Justice Conferencing: The key for victims is in one question.
from Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles:
....One area of Restorative Justice Professionalism I focus on, is remembering ALL victims. Some victims do not get a victim-witness worker through the prosecutor’s office. The list of Victims Rights for Wisconsin is very court-room, criminal justice system process orientated. That’s good, victims need support and help navigating that. What I do is restorative justice, and in striving to do that well for all victims I have experienced a conferencing question that is KEY.
European Commission's Victims' Package: Consultation on taking action on rights, support and protection of victims of crime and violence
from the announcement in the European Commission's Freedom, Security and Justice area:
The Commission intends to adopt a package of measures, including a Directive on minimum standards for victims of crime, in the first half of 2011 in particular to replace the 2001 Framework Decision on the standing of victims. This consultation gives stakeholders the opportunity to present their views about which concrete actions could be developed at EU level that would bring real added value. It will also give the Commission an insight into concrete experiences of those working with victims of crime, particularly regarding the difficulties they encounter when assisting victims and the problems faced by those victims. The Commission is looking in particular for reliable data, factual information and specific real-life examples, regarding both problems and solutions.
Jul 29, 2010 Region: Europe, Support, Mediation, Other, Victim, Restitution
Crime victims treated like the 'poor relation'
from Dominic Casciani's article on BBC.co.uk:
The first commissioner for victims of crime in England and Wales says the criminal justice system treats them as a poor relation and an afterthought.
Too often victims found themselves a "sideshow" as police, prisons, lawyers and the courts focused on the offender, Louise Casey said.
She said too much time was spent trying to help all crime victims, rather than focusing on those in genuine need.
Jul 28, 2010 Country:England&Wales, Region: Europe, Support, Mediation, Other, Victim
Restorative Justice Centre's submission to Ministry of Justice on victims' rights
The Restorative Justice Centre at AUT University in New Zealand has responded to a discussion draft titled "A Focus on Victims of Crime: A Review of Victims' Rights" on how the government might better address the needs of crime victims. Following are excerpts from RJC's response:
9. The central justice needs of victims are submitted to be accountability, vindication, empowerment, information, truth-telling and future safety. Only the first and last of these are addressed (to some degree) by the current legal process, and then only when the offender is convicted. Thus in crimes that go largely unreported, such as sexual offences, there can be no feeling of accountability in the absence of alternative processes, and victims remain unsafe.
10. The remaining four central justice needs are those which Dr Howard Zehr, known to and used by MoJ as a consultant in restorative justice, has said are “especially neglected”. They are next mentioned separately. However they overlap with needs identified by other writers.
Mar 30, 2010 Region: Pacific, Support, Mediation, System, Country:New Zealand, Other, Victim, Court, Restitution
SFCG Morocco Celebrates New Mediation Centers
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) Morocco recently celebrated the opening of two mediation centers in Casablanca. The openings mark the culmination of the team’s project aimed at providing mediation training for youth.
The project is titled, “Mitigating Communal Conflict by Engaging Youth Constructively in Local Democratic and Economic Development Through the Establishment of Youth Community and Mediation Centers in Casablanca and Tetouan.”
Oct 26, 2009 Country:Morocco, Juvenile, Mediation, Region:Middle East
Treasures: Victims Voice, Safe Justice and Lemonade
by Dan Van Ness
I just came across several treasures that will be extremely useful to people who have been, who love, or who work with crime victims.
The first is the website of Victims' Voice, a Canadian NGO sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee and whose purpose is "to address the revictimization of victims in the criminal justice system, to create understanding about victims among practitioners who work within the system and to give emotional and informational support directly to victims through victim-centered programs."
The website has a number of resources that can be downloaded. And it contains links to two more sites, also sponsored by Victims' Voice.
Sep 14, 2009 Correspondent:Dan Van Ness, Practice, Other, Victim, Mediation
Crime victim helps others cope in New Orleans
For Preston, the call informing her about the murder of her husband came in September 2003, while she was in South Africa. Her husband, James Saporito, 38, and his mother, Patrina Saporito, were killed in the elderly woman's Mid-City home. The house had been set on fire after the Saporitos were brutally attacked. Both were stabbed repeatedly, while James Saporito was also shot in the head.
Dan Van Ness: New Hampshire legislature adopts important new victim rights bills
The New Hampshire legislature has created a victim’s right to access to restorative justice programs, provided for compensation to victims of costs related to that participation, and ensured that these are not restricted to victims whose position on sentencing is the same as the prosecutors’.
Jun 16, 2009 Mediation, Correspondent:Dan Van Ness, Other, Victim, Restitution
Lisa Rea: Restorative Justice: Restoring Victims and Communities.
From the article by Lisa Rea and Theo Gavrielides: Victims-driven restorative justice is built on the premise that an offender needs to see the direct impact that his crime had on his victim and on the community, and should be given the opportunity to make amends and seek to provide a form of reparation to those he injured. Through the voluntary participation of both the victim and the offender engaged in an honest and constructive dialogue (i.e. mediation, family group conferencing, circles, etc.) facilitated by trained professionals, the participants benefit from the information exchange.
Jun 03, 2009 Mediation, Other, Victim, Correspondent:Lisa Rea
Mediation and conferencing in child protection disputes: special issue of Family Court Review
In 1997, Family Court Review published the first special volume focused on child welfare mediation. At the time it was a relatively new field gaining ground in a number of states and provinces. Since then mediation and other alternatives to traditional and adversarial child welfare proceedings have been emerging and evolving across the United States, Canada, and the world. In this follow-up to the first special volume, the articles trace the history of the development of mediation and family group decision-making programs in the child welfare arena.
May 10, 2009 Conference, Mediation, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Child Welfare
