This study examines the impact of Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) on victims and survivors of violent crime. We apply a mixed methods approach to compare the experiences of survivors participating in VOD with a group of survivors who chose not to participate at three points in time. The analysis uses validated psychometric measures as well as in-depth qualitative interviews to understand the effects of VOD on victim participants’ mental health and trauma appraisals and on their satisfaction with the justice process. In this study, victim participants of VOD experienced less fear and less anger after the dialogue, as well as fewer symptoms of PTSD and depression. Further, the changes experienced by the treatment group were more significant than those in the comparison group over a similar period of time. We discuss implications for access to restorative encounters within or alongside the criminal legal process.
(Publisher abstract provided.)
Downloads
Related Datasets
Similar Publications
- Confirmation Bias and Other Systemic Causes of Wrongful Convictions: A Sentinel Events Perspective
- Training police for procedural justice: An evaluation of officer attitudes, citizen attitudes, and police-citizen interactions
- DNA-Based Identification of Forensically Important Lucilia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in the Continental United States