A major Australian Institute of Criminology evaluation shows restorative justice in the ACT has improved victim wellbeing and significantly reduced reoffending in domestic and sexual violence cases.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was a global leader in extending restorative justice into the fraught area of domestic and sexual violence – and it has resoundingly worked.

A comprehensive Australian Institute of Criminology research report has found victims felt better supported, perpetrators learned that victims are not to blame and – most importantly – the frequency of re-offending has dropped.

Principal research analyst Dr Siobhan Lawler gave the annual McAulay Oration to the ACT Chapter of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences on 27 November – and the results were clear:

The report declared that, in the almost four years to August 2022, 162 cases, involving 208 persons harmed and 165 persons responsible, had been referred to the extended program. Most common among them was family violence (including child abuse and child-to-parent violence) at 60 per cent, followed by intimate-partner violence at 36 per cent.

One in four participants (numbers were the same for persons harmed and perpetrators) referred to the scheme were found suitable to participate in a conference.

The report said, “Interviews identified that persons harmed were motivated to take part … to confront the person responsible in a safe setting and have their experiences to encourage the person responsible to get help or give back to the community and to try to make sure that the person responsible would not reoffend.”

Often, victims wanted nothing more than information, some insight into why the perpetrator had acted as they........

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