ABSTRACT
1 Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives Association (FRCJIA), a community-based non-profit organisation in Langley, British Columbia, operates a victim/of fender mediation programme designed for use in crimes of severe violence. Of particular interest is the growing body of evidence demonstrating the therapeutic impact of victim–offender mediation upon the participants. Victims frequently report that this approach has contributed to their trauma recovery in profound ways, including a diminishing of severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Offender participants also describe the process as deeply ‘healing’. Therapists and prison programme facilitators have reported seeing significant increases in victim empathy and a commitment to relapse prevention in those who have participated. Other jurisdictions are implementing similar models, a number of them involving consultation, training and continuing mentoring provided by FRCJIA staff. If the results continue to be as auspicious as the first 15 years of empirical experience would indicate, these programmes will likely continue to proliferate, with significant implications for the fields of victimology, criminology and the related, rapidly developing, field of trauma studies.
