Victim-offender dialogue is a meeting between someone who committed a crime and the person he or she harmed. A trained volunteer mediator is present and helps guide the meeting. This mediator has received special training and helps everyone feel comfortable and safe talking together. It also provides an opportunity to meet face to face if both parties feel comfortable.

Participation in a restorative process does not amount to admission of guilt. Statements made in the process are strictly confidential and are inadmissible in a formal court proceeding.

At the Meeting
In the meeting the offender and the victim talk to each other about what happened and how it has affected them. They may also discuss restitution, which is what the person who committed the crime can do to repair the harm he or she caused.

Restitution Agreement
If the offender and the victim agree on a restitution plan (for example, paying the victim back for damage done), the mediator will write up that agreement and submit a copy to the relevant Court. It then becomes the official restitution agreement for implementation through the court.
Rationale of Victim Offender Dialogue 

1. Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured.
2. Those most directly involved and affected by crime should have the opportunity to participate fully in the response, if they wish.
3. Government's role is to preserve a just public order, and the community’s is to build and maintain a just peace.
Core Principles of Victim Offender Dialogue
1. Human beings possess untapped inner resources that under the right circumstances can be accessed and utilized to address issues and resolve problems of importance to them.
2. Appropriate meeting structure can neutralize status and power, and provide an environment conducive to meaningful dialogue, even in emotionally intense contexts.
3. The use of specific techniques and strategies by the facilitator/mediator serves the larger goals of creating a safe, respectful environment in which a mediated dialogue can occur.
4. The “personal” is powerful: genuine stories of people’s experience can be evocative of empathy, insight, and learning. The telling and hearing of these stories can be empowering, healing, and transformative for both storyteller and listener.
5. The mediator/facilitator’s presence plays an important role in facilitating a genuine dialogue in which the parties are doing most of the talking.
6. Presenting choices to the parties whenever possible maximizes their opportunities to feel empowered by the process.
7. The power of a mediated dialogue is a transformative experience. Differences and conflicts can elicit creativity and a sense of possibilities otherwise unknown.
8. Discovering underlying information, needs and interests enhances collaborative effort and produces increasingly satisfying results.
9. Well-written agreements guide and focus behavior thereby producing effective results.
10. Flexibility! This is not a “one size fits all” process.

Why choose Victim Offender Dialogue?

Many people choose to take part in victim-offender dialogue because it offers unique benefits compared to the traditional court system.

 

Benefits of Victim Offender Dialogue

 

Restorative justice improves upon the traditional criminal justice in that it has the following benefits:

 

·         it views criminal acts more comprehensively: rather than defining crime only as lawbreaking, it recognizes that offenders harm victims, communities and even themselves

 

·         it involves more parties: rather than giving key roles only to government and the offender, it includes victims and communities as well

 

·         it measures success differently: rather than measuring how much punishment has been inflicted, it measures how much harm has been repaired or prevented

·         it recognizes the importance of community involvement and initiative in responding to and reducing crime, rather than leaving the problem of crime to the government alone

 Benefits for Victims

 

·         Have the chance to explain how the crime impacted your life and express your thoughts and feelings about the incident.

·         Get answers to your questions about the offenses that only the offender can provide.

·         Allow the offender to see you as a real person.

·         Be directly involved in how the offender is held accountable for his or her crime.

 

 

Benefits for Offenders

·         Tell your story and be heard.

·         Take responsibility for your actions.

·         Have the opportunity to make amends for what you did wrong, instead of just being punished for it.

·         Help choose your restitution plan instead of letting others to decide your fate.