NCJ Number
209894
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 11 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 571-602
Date Published
May 2005
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This study examined the meanings of justice from a victim’s perspective, specifically victims of sexual and domestic violence.
Abstract
In the course of their recovery, victims of sexual and domestic violence confront basic questions about the meaning of justice, such as how can the truth be made known, how should offenders be held accountable, what is appropriate punishment, can harm be repaired, and how can victims and offenders go on living in the same community. So, what are the meanings of justice, as viewed from the perspective of victims of violent crime? Based on testimony of victims of sexual and domestic violence, this study explored the question of what justice might look like if victims were the central characters, rather than sideline actors, in the dialectic of criminal justice. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 22 informants (18 women and 4 men). The respondents were asked open-ended questions about their experiences of victimization, their efforts to seek compensation, and their views of what would be required to set things right. Of the four basic aims of criminal justice, deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, and rehabilitation, respondents generally endorsed only one: incapacitation. Their priority was safety for themselves and others. Even though they unanimously agreed that the desirable goal was the rehabilitation of offenders, they doubted the prospects for rehabilitation. Their vision of justice combined retributive and restorative elements in the service of healing a damaged relationship, a relationship between the victim and his/her community, not between the victim and offender. However, the community support that victims so ardently desire does not presently exist. The informants discovered that no honor, however well deserved, was granted to them without a fight. References