Sexual Violence and Substantive Equality: Can Restorative Justice Deliver?

The effects of sexual crimes upon victims and the wider community are pervasive and far-reaching, yet conventional attempts to address offending and seek justice for victims have not succeeded; rather, they have left victims without a sense of justice and often magnified the adverse impacts of the initial victimization. The applicability and appropriateness of restorative justice to such gendered categories of crime has been long debated, but emerging evidence suggests that it may offer victims greater satisfaction by way of recognition of the need for substantive over procedural equality, and consequent privileging of victims’ needs and experiences. This focus on substantive equality and its implications for justice also aligns with international covenants, which recognize the inadequacy of formal equality and traditional approaches to justice when addressing crimes where perpetration is dependent on the manifestation of power and control. The article therefore sets out the case for restorative justice in accordance with these imperatives for substantive equality, and discusses the challenges inherent in providing safe restorative practices.