NCJ Number
224346
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 48 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 557-566
Date Published
July 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The author of this paper (Kathleen Daly) responds to Annie Cossins’ article in the British Journal of Criminology 48(3) in which Cossins draws on Daly’s research to argue that the case for using restorative justice in sexual assault cases is not well founded.
Abstract
In “Restorative Justice and Child Sex Offenses: The Theory and the Practice,” Cossins (2008:360) says there is “insufficient evidence” to show that restorative justice (the conference process) is better than formal court proceedings for victims of sexual assault. Because there may be “real limits in the values, processes, and practices of restorative justice,” Cossins proposes that greater effort should be given to legal reforms, such as vulnerable witness protection programs or specialist sexual violence courts. Daly’s response in this paper begins with several key points. She then corrects and challenges several misrepresentations and assumptions in Cossins’ article. Daly notes areas where she agrees with Cossins, but notes a significant difference between them. Daly calls for a more radical agenda for change. Her arguments draw largely from her research on youth justice conferences and their application to sexual and family violence cases in Australia, together with a meta-review of attrition studies in five countries. Daly concludes that the evidence shows that legal reforms have produced modest gains for sexual assault victims, which is why alternative justice practices should be pursued, researched, and evaluated. 30 references