“Obviously It's for the Victim to Decide”: Restorative Justice for Sexual and Family Violence From the Perspective of Second-Wave Anti-Rape Activists

Abstract

While the appropriateness of restorative justice for sexual and family violence continues to experience worldwide feminist debate, these programs already exist. We thematically analyzed the transcripts of former members of a second-wave feminist antirape organization in Australia to ascertain their perspectives on a victim-centered conferencing model. They provided informed and valuable insights drawn from their decades of advocacy. Participants supported restorative justice in principle, stressing respect for victims’ agency and independence in all policies and program designs. Their reservations, consistent with concerns in the literature, related to meeting victims’ needs within a constrained system rather than principled opposition to the concept.