It is important to keep in mind that restorative justice can be positive for victims of crime, but recognizing victims’ needs must be the starting point. All too often, in the criminal justice system, we use restorative justice as a tool to shorten the process, to accelerate the use of alternative measures, for instance. The most important thing is to establish the victim’s needs and, from that point, we can see what can be done. That is where the process has to start. It has to start by recognizing victims’ needs instead of using restorative justice as a tool for legal purposes, I would say.
On September 29th, 2022. See this statement in context.