Australian Judge Urges Sex Victims to Meet Their Attackers |TODAY|

Submitted by dan. on 2007-09-10 21:31.
Victim Support

Some sexual assault victims could benefit from meeting their attackers to tell them how the offence had affected their lives, one of the state's most respected judges has said. This controversial "restorative justice" approach would involve perpetrators sitting down with victims, or victims' representatives, admitting the crime and providing some reparation.

"It would get the victim some acknowledgement that the crime has happened," according to Justice Marcia Neave, a Court of Appeal judge and former chairwoman of the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

She said she was not suggesting "victim-offender mediation", which might imply that a sexual assault was a private conflict to be resolved between victims and perpetrators. Instead she was thinking of a process known as "conferencing", in which the state is involved.

The process would not be used as an alternative to the criminal justice system, but would run parallel to it to help sex assault victims — especially when the law couldn't.

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