Restorative Justice Seminar

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 12.30-3.30pm

Seminar Room LH 213A&B, Lord Hope Building, Strathclyde University

Two papers will be presented followed by ample time for discussion:

1. Prof Clare McGlynn (Durham University) Under the Radar: Restorative Justice in cases of Sexual and Domestic Abuse

 Followed by

2.  Dr Giuseppe Maglione (Napier University) Ideal Victims, Offenders and Communities: an investigation into the representations of the crime stakeholders within Restorative Justice

Under the Radar: Restorative Justice in cases of Sexual and Domestic Abuse

Professor Clare McGlynn, Durham University Law School

When considering questions of justice in cases of sexual and domestic abuse, public debate focuses predominantly on the conventional criminal justice system. The dominant assumption is that criminal convictions and (long) prison sentences equate to justice. Where alternatives such as restorative justice are considered, they are commonly dismissed as likely to lead to injustices. Further, discussion on restorative practices tends to focus on feasibility – could/should we do it - rather than recognising and examining existing practice. Debate, therefore, proceeds on assumptions that (a) conventional criminal justice processes lead to justice and that (b) restorative practices are not already being used in cases of domestic and sexual abuse. I seek to debate both of these assumptions. Drawing on recent research specifically on the police use of restorative approaches in cases of domestic abuse, I suggest that restorative practices are taking place ‘under the radar’ and that debate must therefore shift to examine current practices. In addition, I argue that when considering any further development of restorative practices, we must engage with the perspectives of survivors whose understandings of justice go beyond the conventional criminal justice system.

Clare McGlynn is a Professor of Law at Durham University with particular expertise in the legal regulation of pornography, image-based sexual abuse (including ‘revenge porn’) and sexual violence. Her research has examined the possibilities of restorative justice in cases of sexual violence and domestic abuse, and her work with sexual violence survivors is investigating their perceptions of justice, developing the concept of kaleidoscopic justice. She is the co-editor of Rethinking Rape Law: international and comparative perspectives (2010) and Feminist Judgments: from theory to practice (2010); and author of Families and the European Union: law, politics and pluralism (2006) and The Woman Lawyer - making the difference (1998).