Response by Dr Martin Wright to European Commission consultation document: Taking action on rights, support and protection of victims of crime and violence

From the response by Dr. Martin Wright:

The key to this reply is in the last answer:  that in principle restorative justice practices should be available to all victims, subject only to the safeguards mentioned in the reply to Question 17.  Restorative processes are in the interests not only of victims, but also of offenders and the community.  

Victim-offender dialogue is valuable as an end in itself as well as a means to an end.  For many victims, action to make the offender less likely to re-offend is at least as high on their list of priorities as monetary compensation or reparation through work.  When the victim and offender agree on one of these methods of reparation, it is incumbent on the community to provide the resources to enable offenders to carry them out.  

Oct 01, 2010 Region:Europe, Support, Mediation, Correspondent:Martin Wright, Victim, Policy, Other

• Read More