New Law Review Article on Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault

February 28, 2022 |
Valor

“With the troubling rates of mass incarceration, state violence and criminalization of survivors of sexual and domestic violence, many communities and advocates are interested to learn more about non-criminalization alternatives such as transformative and restorative justice.” (from VALOR’s Meet the Movement)

The Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy recently published an article Addressing Sexual Assault in Criminal Justice, Higher Education and Employment: What Restorative Justice Means for Survivors and Community Accountability. Author Janet Neeley explains the restorative process in-depth, along with what it takes in order for the process to work. Neeley emphasizes “[t]here need to be system options for dealing with sexual violence that more effectively prevent future harm and increase reporting. The crux of the matter is whether the person who committed a sex offense is willing to admit responsibility and whether the survivor is interested in a restorative justice approach.”

VALOR supports learning more about how restorative justice practices can help us move towards eradicating sexual violence. The Restorative Justice approach provides survivors with an alternative justice process that depends on an acknowledgment of harm from the perpetrator from the beginning. It facilitates communities coming together for collective solutions to address sexual violence.


Download the article for free here.