Talking punishment: How victim perceptions of punishment change when they communicate with offenders

Diana Batchelor

Abstract The myth that restorative justice is the opposite of retributive justice persists, despite a long his- tory of rhetorical challenges. Only empirical evidence can advance the debate, so this article investigates the relationship between punishment and victim offender communication from the victim s perspective. Interviews with 40 victims of crime established that some victims saw victim offender communication and punishment as alternatives, and others saw them as independent. However, more than half the participants expected that communicating with the offender would increase their satisfaction with the offenders punishment or reported after- wards that this was in fact the case, suggesting that some victims ful l punishment objectives through communication with the offender. The changes occurred when victims received infor- mation about the offender s punishment, received feedback from the offender or used commu- nication with the offender to impose a mild punishment of their own. Victims were not excessively punitive, but this study demonstrates the existence of an association between pun- ishment and victim offender communication from at least some victims perspectives. This art- icle argues that we should not ignore or attempt to eliminate this relationship. Rather, acknowledging and examining the existence of punishment within victim offender communica- tion would improve practice and generate better outcomes for victims, offenders and society.

Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, UK