Jo-Anne Wemmers

Victim satisfaction with restorative justice More than simply procedural justice

Evaluative studies have demonstrated that victims of crime are satisfied with their participation in a restorative intervention. Meanwhile, the explanation of victim satisfaction with restorative practices remains to be established. In this article, we study factors contributing to victim satisfaction with the restorative approach and ask to what extent victim satisfaction is simply due to procedural justice. Procedural justice theory predicts that the perceived fairness of a conflict resolution procedure is not only explained by the favourability of its outcome, but also by the appreciation of procedural factors, such as trust, neutrality, respect and voice, and that procedures can be assessed irrespective of their outcome. We conducted semi-directive interviews with 34 victims of violent crime who participated in victim–offender mediation, family group conferencing or victim–offender encounters in Canada and Belgium. We found that appreciation of a restorative approach is related to it being perceived as procedurally just. However, it is also related to other factors, namely the restorative approach being flexible, providing care, centring on dialogue and permitting pro-social motives to be addressed. These factors are not accounted for by the procedural justice model. Therefore, procedural justice partially but not entirely explains victim satisfaction with restorative practices.

Victims’ experiences in the criminal justice system and their recovery from crime

This article examines secondary victimization and how the criminal justice system affects victims’ psychological recovery from the crime. Victim recovery was measured using the Modified Post-traumatic Stress Symptom Scale (MPSSS). This study is prospective, following victims as their cases passed through the criminal justice system. How authorities treated victims was measured in terms of victims’ procedural justice judgements. Using a general linear model with repeated measures, unfair procedures were found to impact victims’ recovery. The article closes with a discussion of the findings and their implications.

Victims in the Dutch Criminal Justice System: The effects of Treatment on Victims’ Attitudes and Compliance

The present study attempts to address the question of how victim notification influences the relationship between victims and the criminal justice system. It examines empirically the effects of victim notification on their satisfaction with the performance of the public prosecution, their feelings of obligation to obey the law and law-abiding behavior. It does so by reporting the results of a survey that was conducted as part of the evaluation of new measures to improve the position of victims within the criminal justice system, which are currently being introduced in the Netherlands. Procedures that allow the passive participation of victims in the criminal justice procedure are judged to be more fair than procedures which exclude victims. Moreover, how victims are treated by the prosecution has a significant impact on their subsequent attitudes towards authorities and their law abiding behaviour. Following a review of the literature concerning the impact of victim participation in the criminal justice system and a description of recent developments in the treatment of victims in the Dutch criminal procedure, the method and results of the present study are described. The paper closes with a discussion of the findings and their implications for victim policy.

Gender and Victims’ Expectations Regarding Their Role in the Criminal Justice System: Towards Victim-Centred Prosecutorial Policies

Therapeutic jurisprudence is an interdisciplinary approach to law that offers a rich way of looking at law and to study the extent to which legal rules, procedures or practice promote the psychological well-being of the people it affects. Law is a tool and people who engage the criminal justice system do so for a reason. As such it is important to consider the extent to which legal procedures meet victims’ expectations. In this chapter, we examine victims’ expectations regarding their role in the criminal justice system. Following a discussion of recent international policy developments regarding victims of crime and victims of violence against women in particular, we consider possible gender differences and how the victim’s relationship with the offender affects their expectations, including the awareness of possible future victimization.

Regaining trust: The importance of justice for victims of crimes against humanity

Crimes against humanity involve not only a willing offender but often collaboration by government authorities as well. Besides threatening victims’ faith in others, their faith in government and social institutions is also threatened. In this article we examine victims’ perceptions of justice in order to obtain a better understanding of how to restore justice for victims following crimes against humanity. Based on qualitative interviews with victims of crimes against humanity, we explore the meaning and function of justice. The results support the Fairness Heuristic Theory of Justice, which considers justice judgements to be a determinant of trust in authorities. The article closes with recommendations for transitional governments.

Globalization and Victims’ Rights at the International Criminal Court

Globalization has brought with it not only new types of victimization, it has also introduced new, international criminal law and international criminal justice institutions such as the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. A unique characteristic of the ICC is its recognition of victims’ rights through victim participation and reparation. These rights are inspired in part by international instruments, such as the 1985 UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. However, the UN Declaration is largely based on the needs of victims of conventional crime. In contrast to conventional criminal courts, the ICC deals with mass victimizations such as genocide

From Victimization to Criminalization: General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Poly-victimization and Delinquency

ABSTRACT Although it is well established that victimization and delinquency are related, it is not clear how this relationship works, and victims and offenders are still often studied and treated as two distinct groups. General strain theory views victimization as a form of injustice, which can give rise to anger and eventually lead to delinquency. The authors examine victimization, in particular polyvictimization, as a criminogenic factor. Based on a sample of 1,400 youths 12–17 years old in Quebec (Canada), they examine polyvictimization in relation to delinquency as well as negative emotions that can result from victimization namely anger, depression, and posttraumatic stress. The findings show support for general strain theory and highlight the importance of anger for the relationship between victimization and juvenile delinquency.

Specific Reparation for Specific Victimization: A Case for Suitable Reparation Strategies for War Crimes Victims in the DRC

The vast number of victims as well as their tremendous needs have to be taken into consideration by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that is dealing with some of the war criminals from the DRC. However, while many international instruments provide war victims with rights to reparation, the ICC is limited in terms of who it considers a victim and what it can offer in terms of reparation. The Trust Fund for victims, however, does not suffer these same limitations. Nevertheless, the Trust Fund is grossly underfunded. Thus, it should be supplemented by a national compensation fund for war victims financed by the international community, the DRC as well as States involved in Congolese armed conflict. As we will see later on, although this research is focused to victims of the DRC armed conflict, many of its lessons might have broader implications and apply to other situations involving war-induced victimization.