Volume 3 Number 1, March 2007
Tokyo: Seibundo Publishing Co., Ltd.
ISBN 978-4-7923-9163-8 C3032 Price 1,500yen
- Editorial
- John P. J. Dussich
- Taking Victims Seriously in Restorative Justice
- ANTONY PEMBERTON, FRANS W. WINKEL, and MARC S. GROENHUIJSEN
International Victimology Institute, Tilberg University, The Netherlands- Abstract
- Although restorative justice is often presented as a victim-oriented reform of criminal justice procedures, there is limited research and theory into the experiences of victims within restorative justice. Furthermore, available research and theory is dominated by law-related disciplines and inadequately employ constructs and research methodology used to evaluate victim experiences outside of the criminal justice system. This article provides a starting point for a more fully developed understanding of victim experiences in restorative justice. The implications for restorative justice of relevant bodies of research from social and personality psychology are discussed. Theories relating to anxiety and anger, two common victim reactions to crime, are analyzed. Meeting the offender can effect victims’ perceptions of control and attributions concerning the cause of their own victimization, which in turn may have either positive or negative effects on coping. In addition, the meeting may affect victims’ feelings of anger and the propensity to forgive the offender, depending on the sincerity of the apology, the severity of the offence, and the justice values emphasized. The implications are not confined to academic research and theory, but also apply to the current debate concerning legal standards for restorative justice.
- Can Colombian Community Justice Houses Help the New Criminal Justice System Achieve Restorative Results?
- ANNETTE PEARSON
Consultant, Colombia Community Justice Houses National Program, Bogotá, Colombia- Abstract
- Since Restorative Justice was introduced into the new criminal justice system in Colombia in 2005, the process has led to confusion and procedural shortcuts which do not represent the internationally accepted restorative justice ideas and applications. While the new Criminal Procedure Code recognizes general principles of restorative justice, it does not envisage central issues such as reestablishing relations, the healing process, building understanding, and peaceful coexistence. The preliminary obligatory conciliation process required before a criminal investigation will be opened and the use of mediation meetings throughout the process may function as a needed filter to reduce the volume of cases entering the criminal justice system, but this does not reflect a restorative approach. This paper explores the Colombian Community Justice House as an alternative venue for undertaking restorative justice in appropriate cases. Here formal and community justice services work side by side with a pioneering mission to help communities resolve their conflicts opportunely and live peacefully together.
- Native American Indian Identity and Violent Victimization
- JULIE C. ABRIL
Department of Criminology, California State University, Fresno, CA, USA- Abstract
- This paper examines the role of Native American ethnic identity and cultural values in contributing to the reporting of violent victimization. Survey questionnaire (n = 667) and interview data (n = 85) were obtained from a total of 312 Indians and a control group of 355 randomly-selected, non-Indians living within the same Indian reservation community in southwest Colorado. To determine their level of reports of violent victimization that may be a result of their ethnic identity and cultural values, all subjects were asked how they identified themselves ethnically or racially, and by tribal affiliation. Many Indians reported they had been violently victimized in the home by a spouse or other relative. It is hypothesized that simply being a Native American Indian increases the likelihood of reporting violent victimization. Findings from this study suggest the more a person identifies as a Native American Indian, both ethnically and culturally, the more violent victimization they will report.
- The Stolen Generations
- ALANNA COXON
Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia- Abstract
- This paper examines the experiences of the Indigenous Australian children who were forcibly removed from their families under legislative authority during the 20th century. These children are collectively referred to as the “Stolen Generations.” Specifically, it locates the Stolen Generations within the field of victimology and discusses their status as victims. Myths surrounding the experiences of the Stolen Generations are also explored and critically analysed. Finally, measures of reparation and possible avenues for apology and redress are explored.
- Perception of Victim Vulnerability and Victim Treatment:
A Preliminary Study of College Students in Chennai (India) - KUMARAVELU CHOCKALINGAM
Tokiwa International Victimology Institute, Tokiwa University, Mito, Japan
MURUGESAN SRINIVASAN
University of Madras, Chepauk, Chennai, India- Abstract
- Perception plays an important role in determining the behavior of victims of crime. This paper examines perception of victim vulnerability as a determinant of student behavior in terms of fear of crime, the self-restriction of temporal and spatial mobility, and other issues such as the non-reporting of crimes, and the negative image of the agencies of the criminal justice system as a result of perception by victims of their treatment by the police, the judiciary, and related agencies. In this preliminary study, the perception of victim vulnerability and victim treatment was examined by collecting survey data from a random sample of 103 college students in Chennai in India. Results relating to the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, prior victimization, perception of victim vulnerability, fear of crime victimization, and perception of victim treatment are analyzed and presented.
- Victimization and Levels of Aggression in Intimate Partner Violence
- CHIE MAEKOYA
California State University, Fresno, CA, USA- Abstract
- There is a limited research literature on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Japan despite IPV being a serious social problem as in other countries. Aggression, a behavior directed toward harming others, is often mentioned as a characteristic of violent offenders. In this study, the inference made is that victims of Intimate Partner Violence also share this characteristic. A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of 1,086 Japanese living in a medium-size town in Japan. Participants were categorized into four groups based on degree of involvement with IPV, and differences in levels of aggression between the four groups were examined. The findings suggest that the persons being victimized by their partners are more likely to have lower levels of aggression than persons who have no involvement with IPV. Another finding was that those victims who also had experience as offenders, showed levels of aggression similar to Intimate Partner Violence offenders.
