Summary
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Many women do not feel that justice is being restored in the aftermath of sexual coercion. Mediation can renew their sense of justice.Mediation has been introduced at the Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault in Copenhagen as one way of helping women exposed to sexual coercion regain control over their lives. This presentation outlines the way in which mediation is conducted at the centre. It describes how both written correspondence between the parties and face to face meetings has proven to be useful ways of conducting the restorative process. The presentation addresses the special obstacles and possibilities for mediation posed by a situation, where: the victim and the offender often have known each other for some time; the offender does not necessarily regard what has happened as sexual coercion; the discourse of rape - 'real rape' - is dominant in the thinking of the victim and the offender and their families and friends. What has been learned in the program so far points to the fact that when it comes to restorative justice, sexual assault constitutes a particular context which makes it necessary for the mediator to be aware of the ways it is possible to talk about rape and sexual coercion and the discourses and narratives that are available to men and women in these situations. Abstract courtesy of the Centre for Justice and Peace Development, Massey University, http://justpeace.massey.ac.nz.
