Patient and staff experiences of restorative justice
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative exploration of patient and staff experiences of restorative justice in a female forensic mental health setting
IRAS ID
261881
Contact name
Sarah Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Coventry University
Duration of Study in the UK
7 years, 5 months, 16 days
Research summary
A qualitative exploration of patient and staff experiences of restorative justice in a female forensic mental health setting
Restorative Justice (RJ) is a “process whereby all parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future”. The goal of RJ is for victims to explain the impact of the crime on them, and for offenders to take responsibility for it and engage in reparation, with the aim of (re-)empowering victims, (re-)integrating offenders into their community and reducing reoffending. In 2011 Government initiatives were enacted to develop and implement RJ interventions and there is a growing evidence - base which indicates that RJ is associated with a plethora of positive outcomes in a number of domains. Despite an expanding evidence - base and policy recognition, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding the introduction of RJ approaches in female forensic mental health settings. This project aims to address this gap in the literature through qualitative exploration of patient and staff experiences of RJ approaches in a female forensic mental health setting. This project will use constructivist grounded theory to analyse semi – structured interviews to explore and develop a deeper understanding of the introduction of RJ in such a setting. Participants will comprise of patients and staff within a female forensic mental health setting. The findings offer some indicators for the embryonic debate of what gender – specific RJ approaches in forensic mental health settings may; or should resemble. This project will develop a theoretical model of the use of RJ approaches within forensic mental health settings and offers practice-based implications for the use of RJ approaches in forensic mental health settings.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
19/IEC08/0028
Date of REC Opinion
23 May 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion