Training for Restorative Justice Practice in Sexual Violence Cases

It is easy to understand why some people may have reservations about the application of restorative justice (RJ) in cases of sexual violence (see e.g. Zinsstag, 2017). Yet European Commissioned Daphne funded research undertaken by Estelle Zinsstag and myself, with a team from a number of European countries demonstrated that this work is already taking place ‘under the radar’ in many jurisdictions across the globe (Zinsstag & Keenan, 2017). Research also indicates that victims of SV in jurisdictions that do not provide RJ services in SV cases as the norm want RJ to be made available to them as a matter of choice (see Keenan, 2014). They want RJ to be provided by a designated autonomous agency, legitimated and supported by the state and independent of but working in collaboration with criminal justice infrastructure. Importantly these victims want RJ in SV cases to be facilitated by well-trained professional practitioners in whom they can trust.