Prioritising victims’ needs: victims’ and practitioners’
perspective
Daniela Bolivar, PhD
Conference: Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia:
Incorporating the EU DimensionFebruary 21-22, 2013
#cietušiem // #victimslatvia // @providus
Conference is organized within project “Support for Victims of Crime: Substantial or Nominal. Latvia and Beyond”. Project is financed by European Union
Aim of this presentation:
What does “prioritising victims’ needs” mean?
• Two studies:
– My PhD, “Victim-offender mediation and victims’ restoration”, KU Leuven
– Research “Project and RJ”, European Forum for RJ
Dissertation
• Qualitative and quantitative research• Spain and Belgium• Before and after mediation• RQ: the role of mediation in victims’
processes of restoration (can RJ offer more than “satisfaction”?)
Project “Victims and RJ” – European Forum for Restorative Justice
• An empirical study of the needs, experiences and position of victims within RJ-practices
• Funding: European Commission – Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security
– Leuven Institute for Criminology (LINC, Leuven, Belgium) – National Institute of Criminal Sciences and Criminology
(NICC, Brussels, Belgium)– National Research Institute of Legal Policy (NRILP, Helsinki,
Finland), – National Institute for Health and Welfare (NIHW, Helsinki,
Finland), University of Helsinki (Finland)– Institute for the Sociology of Law and Criminology (IRKS,
Vienna, Austria), – Neustart (Vienna, Austria)– International Victimology Institute Tilburg (Intervict, the
Netherlands), – Victim in Focus (Slachtoffer in Beeld, Utrecht, the
Netherlands)– The project runs in cooperation with Victim Support Europe
(VSE)
Partners
What are the needs, experiences and position of victims when participating in
restorative justice programmes?
How are restorative justice programmes organised and run with regard to the
inclusion of victims?
What did we want to know?
Macro level Implementation
Micro level Victims’ experiences
How? – Research design
RJ & VS practitioners
Victims of crime
• Three countries / approaches: Finland, Austria, The Netherlands
Neutral Offender-oriented
Victim-oriented
Finland Austria The Netherlands
How? – Research design: “The arrow”
What does “prioritising victims’ needs” mean for VS and RJ practitioners?
MeanRJ
MeanVS
Vulnerable victims cannot participate in mediation processes
2.23 3.17
Vulnerable victims cannot participate in mediation processes unless they are accompanied by support people (e.g. family member)
3.03 3.49
Vulnerable victims cannot participate in mediation processes unless they are assessed by a professional (e.g. psychologist)
2.15 3.29
Traumatized victims cannot participate in mediation processes
2.49 3.29
(scale 1-5) MeanRJ
MeanVS
Traumatized victims cannot participate in mediation processes unless they are accompanied by support people (e.g. family member)
3 3.31
Traumatized victims cannot participate in mediation processes unless they are assessed by a professional (e.g. psychologist)
2.58 3.11
Restorative justice is not meant to be for victims that are experiencing negative feelings as a consequence of the offence (such as anger or revenge)
1.78 2.46
(scale 1-5) MeanRJ
MeanVS
RJ practices (conferencing, mediation) should be offered to all victims, regardless victims’ circumstances
3.55 2.91
RJ practices (conferencing, mediation) should be offered to all victims, regardless type of crime
3.43 3.03
RJ practices (conferencing, mediation) should be offered to all victims, regardless moment of the criminal justice process
3.67 2.83
(scale 1-5) MeanRJ
MeanVS
RJ works better when applied to minor crimes 2.16 2.91
RJ works better when applied to serious crimes
2.47 2.06
RJ can work fine in all type of crimes 4.08 2.69
What does “prioritising victims’ needs” mean for VS practitioners?
• RJ: a victim-centred practice
• Vulnerability and RJ
• Types of crime and RJ
• Support people and the victim in RJ
What does “prioritising victims’ needs” mean for RJ practitioners?
• RJ: a “RJ-centred” practice
• Vulnerability and RJ
• Types of crime and RJ
• Support people and the victim in RJ
What does “prioritising victims’ needs in RJ” mean for victims?
• RJ: an “impartial” practice
• Vulnerability and RJ
• Types of crime and RJ
• Support people and the victim in RJ
Final thoughts
• RJ: A practice responsive to people’s needs
• Risks to keep in mind
• RJ implementation: a common understanding of what “prioritising victims’ needs” means based on the victim perspective
