ANU academics to undertake important crime and justice research

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) recently announced funding for five new projects under the Criminology Research Grants (CRG). One of the five successful ones is The Australian University’s research project led by Professor Meredith Rossner, Professor Miranda Forsyth, Dr Janet Hope, and Professor Lorana Bartels. Their project is titled: Survivor-centred restorative justice in response to sexual violence: Mapping practice and potential.

A global movement to provide meaningful and flexible options to support sexual violence survivors has been gaining momentum, with restorative justice practices seen as a significant area of innovation. Evidence to date indicates that restorative justice can offer the necessary pathways for sexual violence victim-survivors and it can happen in ways that are safe and empowering for participants. Hence there is now an urgent need to determine how restorative justice for sexual violence can best be designed to meet the needs of victim-survivors and other key stakeholders.

This research project aims to document practices, research, and debates around survivor-centred restorative justice in response to sexual violence. It will deliver answers derived from an in-depth case study of the ACT, a jurisdiction long recognised nationally and internationally as a restorative justice innovator and currently poised on the brink of major changes in how it responds to sexual assault, following a wide-ranging review. This research seeks to draw on these strengths to provide an evidence base to expand restorative justice practices in the context of sexual violence across Australia and internationally. By adopting methods that maximise transferability, the project will also lay the groundwork for effective safe program design in other Australian and overseas jurisdictions.

More information on the CRG-funded projects here.