Sexual assault is complex, guileful and ubiquitous. The criminal justice system is expected to deliver a sense that justice has been done, yet its current response is inadequate for the large majority of sexual assault victims. Victims of sexual assault have historically been met with denial and disbelief, with society failing to develop an adequate response to a crime. In recent decades, hard won improvements - called for by reformers and feminists, and implemented by well-intentioned governments - have seen sexual assault taken more seriously in legal and political arenas alike. Investigation, prosecution and court procedures have improved; specialization has been encouraged; and victims have been provided with fairer treatment and additional …show more content…
Chemical castration involves the use of anti-androgens and psychotropic medications to lower, and in some cases eradicate, testosterone levels in men . The scope of adoption of this technique the practical incorporation of this technique into the existing system is unclear because whether India’s criminal justice system possesses the resources and institutional capacities required to effectively administer the complex and long-term individualized medical treatment involved in chemical castration. Introducing the complex and demanding procedures involved in chemical castration on India’s current prison system are therefore a recipe for failure. If such a sentencing option was implemented, it might well do little more than provide a false sense of security while exposing victims, offenders and the wider community to further …show more content…
The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice
Proponents of restorative justice contend that it is more likely than retributive justice to reduce the incidence of crime because of its central concern for the safety of victims. The studies have demonstrated that restorative justice can have a reductive effect in certain cases and can change the behaviour of offenders. On the whole, however, there is more evidence that restorative justice is effective in reducing either the frequency or severity of reoffending for juveniles than in the case of adult offenders.
Conclusion and
In the book, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in College Town, by Jon Krakauer, the reader delves into how rape and sexual assault are treated in the town of Missoula, and the University of Montana. As the reader, we are informed on how the university, the police department, the district attorney’s office, and the community reacted to these rape and sexual assault allegations. We see how the criminal justice system has failed the victims, and are forced to live with what happened to them, while their assailants are free of any burden. The law is set in place to protect people from victimization, but when the men, in this book, are not legally held accountable, then any woman, or man, is more susceptible to victimization. It is interesting
The balanced and restorative approach provides a significant change in toles and image of the juvenile justice system from a revolving door to a resource. The resource makes juvenile offenders accountable and enhances the quality of life within communities by community restoration using preventive services to help improve the safety of the community. 2-Compare and contrast the different types of restorative justice (i.e., VOM, FGC, NRB, peacemaking/sentencing circles)
The underreporting of sexual assault cases is one common denominator that many researchers can agree on is an issue. This review is going to take a look at two sets of research articles that analyzes two different perspectives of underreporting of sexual assault. The first section of this review is going to analyze the criminal justice system respond to claims of sexual assault from the police investigators to the prosecutors charging decisions. The second section of this review is going to discuss the the accuracy of false allegations of sexual assault cases. In Spohn and Tellis (2012) the criminal justice system response to sexual assault from the first stage of the investigation when the detective decides to move forward in the arrest.
In 1997 the total number of sexual assault cases recorded in Australia was 14,138, 60 percent of victims were aged under 20 and 79% of victims were female. Statistics by ABS show in the year of 2021 there were 11,550 reports of sexual assault, 71% of victims being under the age of 18. 83% of the victims were female, an increase of 4 percent since 1997. Many sexual assault cases go unreported in fear that the justice system will fail the victims, statistics such as recent as 2019 show that 14,994 incidents were reported to NSW Police but only 1,207 finalised charges. This shows that the conviction of sexual assault is also a problem towards the victims. Although with the many law reforms in place, sexual assault is still a continuing issue in todays society with 1 in 4 women having experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.
Restorative justice is a very selective process, and can only truly work if both the victim and the offender agree to the terms of the conversation. In other words, strict vetting must be done on both the victim and the offender in order for restorative justice to occur. For this type of justice to actually be able to really work and bring about rehabilitation participation must be 100% voluntary otherwise it will fail. This among other things can be listed as a limitation of restorative justice. Another disadvantage is, that restorative justice cannot be implemented in all categories of crimes.
Within the judicial and criminal justice systems, restorative justice is seen as a forward moving process in regards to the way in which the sentencing of offenders is handled (Britto & Reimund, 2013). Restorative justice works to focus on the needs of both the victim and the offender but incorporates the community as well as those who support both the victim and offender (Britto & Reimund, 2013). The approach of restorative justice in not simply a means by which society responds to and reduces crime but instead, provides an equivalently valuable social response to crime (Dancig-Rosenberg and Galt, 2013). Furthermore, the restorative approach places emphasis on the personal and relational harms which were caused by the crime while creating space for dialogue concerning the actual damage, whether directly or
It appears on the multiple studies reviewed in this report there is a variation in the response pending the severity of the offense and the type of restorative justice utilized. It is indicated Sentencing Circles are consistent in all arenas; they report a low recidivism rate in relation to all levels of crime severity. Over all, recidivism rates were down with restorative justice programs when compared to traditional programs. Statistics reported dependable results noting when offenders did re-offend the crimes were not as violent or severe and this was found not to be the circumstance with traditional programs (Umbreit, Vos, & Coates, 2006, p.
For example, a teenager steals an old lady’s purse and when exposed to restorative justice, the teenager has to give back all the money that they stole. It has nothing to do with handing out justice equally, it’s about restoring the feeling of safety and peace of mind to the victim and the community as a
A study done by Criminal justice inspection Northern Ireland found the rate of recidivism went down when young offenders were diverted into restorative justice furthermore study concludes that people were often quite pleased with the outcome of the restorative justice(Restorative Justice Council,
Traditionally, crime has been viewed as a violation against the state. Still too little attention is given to the fact that criminal acts are also violations of the victims and the communities. Punishing and correcting offenders’ criminal behaviors should not only be conducted using the concepts of retribution, incapacitation, and deterrence, it should also be designed to repair the damages done to the victims and the communities. Many benefits are associated with shifting to the restorative justice model, for the victim, the offender, and the community. Restorative justice benefits the victims by giving them a voice regarding the accountability of the offender.
Answer the following questions regarding the case studies found in Mears, chapter 4. You may answer the questions using the mass incarceration case study OR the sex offender laws case study. What was the assumed problem? Many new laws regarding sex crimes were developed following the sexual assaults of minors sensationalized in the news from 1993-2005.
CONCLUSION Considering all the positives and negatives youth restorative justice conferencing has on the youth offenders, families and victims involved, the following research question needs to be answered: Should youth restorative justice conferencing be made obligatory for offenders in Queensland? If restorative justice conferencing is made obligatory, then the impacts conferencing would have on the family members and victims involved will not change from how they currently are. The only change that will occur, is that more family members will be able to support their children through the process. Along with this, more victims will be able to tell their stories, hear why the youth offender had offended, and receive support while finding a
Restorative Justice processes are likely to reduce criminals from repeating offenses, as numerous recidivism studies have demonstrated. Thus, it would be more than justified to employ restorative processes a response to crimes under
Today our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30).
Batley (2005) stated that restorative justice is about restoring, healing and re- integrating victims, offenders, as well as the society and also preventing further harm. In this assignment, I will be discussing approaches to restorative justice and illustrating their advantages and disadvantages to offending. I will also provide the applications of these five approaches of restorative justice which are retributive approach, utilitarian deterrence approach, rehabilitation approach, restitution approach and restorative approach in the given case study. I will then explain my preferred approach to justice through identifying a personal belief or value that underpins my choice.