This book explores survivors’ experiences of sexual abuse, and their reflections on the sense of justice they feel, in order to inform the design of a programme of restorative justice services. Some programmes have been developed to deliver restorative justice services to survivors of sexual abuse, although there are significant differences in their approach to the provision of services and their interaction with the criminal justice system (Jülich et al, 2010; Koss, 2010, 2014; Umbreit et al, 2012; Mercer et al, 2015). All these services create the opportunity for a survivor to engage in a dialogue with their abuser, which may entail a face-to-face meeting. However, restorative justice processes can also be applied when harm has been caused, rather than necessitating a criminal offence to have been committed (Braithwaite, 2004; Daly, 2016). In conceptualising restorative justice in this manner, there is the possibility for a survivor to seek a process with those who have harmed them – other than their abuser – and therefore the possibilities for a programme for survivors are broader than those previously designed. Fundamental to any such design is to understand the arrays of harms that have been caused to survivors, and which of those they do not feel have been addressed. This book seeks to explore survivors’ reflections on these harms, to inform the design of a restorative justice programme that incorporates the needs they express.

Restorative justice can provide some survivors with a sense of justice, though the evidence to support this proposition is limited by differing definitions of restorative justice, and insufficient empirical evidence. There are several research studies reporting promising results, and these provide some insight as to how these processes are aiding survivors (Loff et al, 2019). There is more substantial evidence of outcomes more generally for victims of crime, including violent crime (Van Camp and Wemmers, 2013; Sherman et al, 2015). From this, it is possible to extrapolate to survivors of sexual abuse and consider how outcomes may vary with this crime type, as well as the outcomes which are accessible from a restorative justice process in comparison to a criminal one.