Recent Insights into Justice Outcomes for Abuse Victims

Last Friday the ABC's World Today Program reported on that for the "first time research has been conducted into the legal justice done to victims and survivors of abuse in institutions". The report framed the discussion in the context of Australia's current Royal Commission into Child Abuse.

The author of the research, Dr Kathleen Daly, from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University, is cautioning survivors of abuse about what to expect and she warns that "most inquiries are conducted for political purposes and most of the recommendations are similar".

Lawyers Weekly further reports on Dr Daly's views from a recent address to a multi-disciplinary forum: Responding to Historical Child Sex Abuse, held at Sydney University Law School on Friday 31 May):

“We know a lot about victims’ and survivors’ experiences in institutions . . . but we know a lot less about their experiences with justice processes and outcomes.”

Lawyers Weekly reports that Dr Daly’s research focuses largely on "restorative justice" coming up with a lists of a victims’ five justice interests, which are:

• participation;

• voice;

• validation,

• vindication and

• offender accountability.

In Dr Daly's view it's then a question of which type of justice mechanism or combination best achieves the listed interests.

On the question of whether money has a part to play in the compensation of victims Dr Daly is quoted as follows:

“A lot of research says it’s not the money that matters in terms of moving forward . . . while that may be true there’s also a lot of literature to suggest [victims’ and survivors’] disgruntlement that they did not receive enough money."

Indeed as the commissions into child abuse carry out their work the question of how to put things right and how to help the victims will be increasingly debated and already it is apparent there will be no easy resolution and a lot of hard research and careful work to be done.

Sources:

• Mixed justice outcomes for victims of historical abuse (ABC)

• Forum compares justice responses to child abuse

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