Victim Recovery in Restorative Justice: A Theoretical Framework

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231206828
• Author: Masahiro Suzuki
• Date: 01 December 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2023, Vol. 50, No. 12, December 2023, 1893 –1908.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231206828

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2023 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

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VICTIM RECOVERY IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

A Theoretical Framework

MASAHIRO SUZUKI

Central Queensland University

Restorative justice was initially used for minor crimes, but it has been increasingly used to address the aftermath of violent

crimes. Previous studies have indicated that restorative justice can be effective in reducing the harmful effects of violent

victimization. However, there is limited research on how restorative justice can support victim recovery. This article presents

a theoretical framework to better understand the relationship between victim recovery and restorative justice. The framework

identifies core recovery factors that are common to victims of different types of violence, as well as those that are relevant

to the restorative justice process. In addition, the framework highlights enabling factors that can facilitate the victim recovery

process when present in restorative justice as well as inhibiting factors that can impede the victim recovery process if they

are present in restorative justice.

Keywords: restorative justice; victimology; victimization; violence; trauma

Violence is a pervasive problem in our society (Dworkin et al., 2021). The prevalence of

violent crimes is concerning because violent victimization is a risk factor for future

criminal offending (Papalia et al., 2018), revictimization (Walsh et al., 2020), and substance

abuse (Stuart et al., 2013). Moreover, violent victimization can cause enduring psychologi-

cal trauma. Existing research has demonstrated that violent crimes, including intimate part-

ner violence (Miles-McLean et al., 2021), sexual assault (Hansen et al., 2017), and child

abuse (Powers et al., 2016), can lead to severe trauma for victims.

Since violent victimization has significant consequences, caring for victims in the justice

system is of paramount importance. Numerous interventions and treatments, such as cogni-

tive therapy, have been developed for victims of violence (Amstadter et al., 2007).

Restorative justice can be considered one such intervention, as it originated in response to

the critiques of the neglect of victims in the justice procedure (Zehr, 1990). While there is

no universally agreed-upon definition of restorative justice (Wood & Suzuki, 2016), restor-

ative justice is commonly regarded as “a meeting . . . of affected individuals, facilitated by

AUTHORS’ NOTE: The author has no conflicts of interest to disclose. This research is not funded.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Masahiro Suzuki, College of Law, Criminology

and Justice, Central Queensland University, 120 Spencer Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; e-mail:

m.suzuki@cqu.edu.au.

1206828CJBXXX10.1177/00938548231206828Criminal Justice and BehaviorSuzuki / Victim Recovery in Restorative Justice

review-article2023

1894 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

one or more impartial people” (Daly, 2016, p. 21, emphasis in the original). In this context,

it is noteworthy that the rate of victim engagement in restorative justice processes is not

invariably substantial (e.g., Hoyle & Rosenblatt, 2016). Given the primary focus of this

article on the victim recovery process, this article presupposes the victims’ involvement in

restorative justice.

Restorative justice is currently implemented globally (Gavrielides, 2021), but there exists

variability in its operational characteristics, particularly concerning its integration within

existing criminal justice systems or its independent implementation (Dignan, 2007), eligi-

bility criteria for justice-involved persons (Miers, 2001), and its placement within the legal

process (Umbreit et al., 2004). Notwithstanding these variations, a restorative justice meet-

ing typically encompasses two distinct phases: (a) a storytelling phase, where participants

engage in discussions regarding the circumstances and repercussions of the crime, and (b)

an outcome discussion phase, where participants explore appropriate measures to redress

the harm caused to those affected by the crime (Rossner & Bruce, 2018). Restorative justice

has been used to address the aftermath of serious crime (Umbreit et al., 2006), including

domestic violence (Pennell et al., 2021), sexual assault (Burns & Sinko, 2023), and child

abuse (Klar-Chalamish & Peleg-Koriat, 2021).

Despite the increasing use of restorative justice for violent crimes, little is known about

how restorative justice can support recovery from victimization and trauma. This lack of

knowledge is partly because early scholars were primarily interested in evaluating the effec-

tiveness of restorative justice, particularly concerning participant satisfaction, perceived

fairness, and recidivism reduction (Kimbrell et al., 2023). Among these outcomes, satisfac-

tion has been a dominant measure of “success” for victims in restorative justice (Daly,

2017). As a result, there is a lack of a systematic understanding of the victim recovery pro-

cess in restorative justice (Bolitho, 2017). This knowledge gap undermines the use of restor-

ative justice for violent crimes because there are ongoing doubts and controversies over the

appropriateness of restorative justice for violent crimes (Herman, 2003), particularly

domestic violence (Gavrielides, 2015) and sexual assault (Armstrong, 2021).

This article aims to address the gap in the literature regarding how restorative justice can

facilitate the victim recovery process. To achieve this goal, the article offers a theoretical

framework drawing on the literature on victim recovery from violent victimization. This

article aims to enhance comprehension regarding the facilitation of victim recovery through

restorative justice, thereby providing guidance for future research in terms of data collec-

tion and analysis. As existing literature has mainly focused on the outcomes of restorative

justice, examining whether it is effective, there is a need to shift the research focus from

“what works” to “how it works” (Suzuki, 2020). Responding to this call, this article contrib-

utes to the literature by establishing a theoretical link between restorative justice and victim

recovery.

This study commences with a comprehensive review of the existing research on victim

recovery and restorative justice. This article then examines the core and enabling factors for

victims to recuperate from violent victimization and discusses how these elements relate to

restorative justice. Drawing on the identified connection between these factors, this article

offers a theoretical framework for the victim recovery process in restorative justice. This

article concludes by presenting the implications for research on restorative justice and vic-

tim recovery from violent victimization.