Published as part of the integrated project "Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society"

This publication is an initiative of the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, and results from its first conference which was held in Leuven, Belgium, from 27-29 October 1999. The first six chapters consider victim-offender mediation and restorative justice from a more theoretical point of view. These analyses of theoretical, legal, policy, ethical and societal aspects of mediation and restorative justice have been written by well-known scholars in this field. The second part of the book consists of overviews of the situation with regard to victim-offender mediation in the eight European countries in which it is currently the most developed (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom). For these last chapters, a multitude of information was collected in each of these countries, and this is presented and analysed comparatively. The following topics are discussed for each of the countries: the history of victim-offender mediation in that particular country, the legal context, policy and implementation, the number of programmes and the way they function, the practice of mediation, the number and characteristics of cases, evaluation and research, and finally challenges, obstacles and expectations for the future. This is probably the first time that such extensive reports on the practice of victim-offender mediation in Europe have been brought together in this way. In publishing this book the European Forum is seeking to contribute to the realisation of one of its objectives, namely providing people all over Europe - and beyond - with information on victim-offender mediation and restorative justice in other countries. Restorative justice is a relatively new field and is still very much evolving. A full exchange of information and ideas will contribute to this process.

The present handbook offers, in a quick reference format, an overview of key considerations in the implementation of participatory responses to crime based on a restorative justice approach. Its focus is on a range of measures and programmes, inspired by restorative justice values, that are flexible in their adaptation to criminal justice systems and that complement them while taking into account varying legal, social and cultural circumstances. It was prepared for the use of criminal justice officials, non-governmental organizations and community groups who are working together to improve current responses to crime and conflict in their community

Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice offers a clear and convincing explanation of restorative justice, a movement within criminal justice with growing worldwide influence. It explores the broad appeal of this new vision and offers a brief history of its development. The book presents a theoretical foundation for the principles and values of restorative justice and develops its four cornerpost ideas of encounter, amends, inclusion and reintegration. After exploring how restorative justice ideas and values may be integrated into policy and practice, it presents a series of key issues commonly raised about restorative justice, summarizing various perspectives on each.

This book records a symposium where imaginary presenters consisting of a politician, judge, psychologist, probation officer, victim assistance worker, philosopher and mediator discuss crime and punishment. This is the springboard for a review of developments in the field of restorative justice, challenging many 'sacred cows' of crime and punishment and focusing on the people who suffer directly, the victims. A key theme is that if society as a whole does not encourage respect then it ought to be no surprise that offenders have scant regard for the property, physical integrity or rights of other people. The system itself can serve to weaken rather than improve safety and security. The book points to the dangers of a punitive mind-set and reflects on the arguments and data in favour of an effective, inclusionary, community-based response to crime.

To what extent is restorative justice able to ‘restore’ the harm suffered by victims of crimes of interpersonal violence? Restorative justice is an innovative, participatory and inclusive reaction to crime that permits victims and offenders to engage in a communication process about the consequences of the offence. It looks to the future, actively involving parties to find, agree and implement ways to repair the harm. Restoring Harm analyses the restoration process from a psychosocial point of view and discusses the role of victim–offender mediation within such a process. It brings together literature from the fields of restorative justice, victimology and psychology, and shares original findings from victims who were interviewed in Belgium and Spain. This book not only offers descriptive findings but also provides a theoretical and comprehensive model that elucidates several possibilities for why victim–offender mediation may or may not play a role in victims’ processes of emotional restoration. Well informed and well documented, this volume brings together evidence from different regions and develops a detailed discussion of the ‘effectiveness’ of restorative justice with regard to victims. Providing new and solid evidence thanks to a quasi-experimental methodological design, theory and practice come together to offer relevant reflections for researchers and practitioners who are concerned about the victim’s position within victim–offender mediation and desire to develop a victim-sensitive restorative justice practice.

The intercultural contexts and new configurations in Europe offer fertile ground for social conflict, tensions and threat. This book challenges predominant and fear inducing approaches of justice and security as they appear in intercultural contexts, and develops alternative understandings by exploring both theoretically and empirically the potential of dialogic and restorative justice oriented actions in sensitive areas of living together. The book offers unique opportunities for rethinking frames of (in)justice, (in)security, and their intersections, and for reshaping European practices and policies in a more sustainable way. This book is based on an innovative and exploratory action research project in four European countries, which challenges the obsessive focus on security concerns, the merging of the security discourse with intercultural contexts, and the emphasis on technology and surveillance as a way to conceive the doing of security. Both the project and the book offer another vision on what security means and how it can be done, by multiplying participatory encounters between different groups in society, promoting opportunities for deliberations and dialogue about alternative forms of conviviality. The book is one of two volumes resulting from the work by a group of researchers in six European countries having cooperated intensively during four years in ALTERNATIVE, an action research project funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme.