Beyond Punishment: Young girls and Restorative Justice
This is a blog by Nikita Singh, an international journalism student at Cardiff University currently working on a project to understand the impact of Restorative Justice practices on women offenders.
Despite the recent popularity of Restorative Justice within the Youth Justice System, a significant gap in research remains regarding the experiences of young girls participating in RJ interventions.
Throughout history, the justice system in the UK has often been unfair to women. Women were disproportionately targeted and incarcerated, often for offences that wouldn’t be considered crimes today. Women faced arrest and imprisonment while fighting for voting rights, and laws were introduced to reinforce societal control over their sexuality and normalise violence within and outside of the home.
Even today, women are held to a different moral standard than men, resulting in harsher sentences for women. Research by the Prison Reform Trust suggests systemic biases within the justice system that result in the unequal treatment of women, who are disproportionately affected by harsher penalties compared to men for similar crimes.
The Criminal Justice System is driven by a desire to hold offenders truly accountable. Over the years, increased attention has been given to practices which promote rehabilitation of offenders. Recognising that punishment is often ineffective, Restorative Justice aims to help offenders understand the harm they have caused and encourage them to repair the harm, to the extent that is possible. It implies a meeting between victims of crime and those who have committed those crimes.
A restorative approach, focused on repairing harm and fostering accountability, holds potential for young women, as research suggests they may be more receptive to restorative practices.
While RJ offers a pathway to healing and rehabilitation, there are some drawbacks. Young women often refuse to apologise during conferences due to genuine hostility towards victims or a sense of injustice surrounding their own circumstances. Due to the victimisation of young girls themselves, many girls who enter the Criminal Justice System have experienced abuse or trauma.
The current framework for Restorative Justice often overlooks this crucial aspect and doesn’t adequately address young women’s needs as victims. Since many young girls were unresponsive to restorative practices, one study suggested building a system that recognises and responds to the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma on young girls’ behaviour.
At 10 years old, the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is one of the youngest in the world. A study conducted on young boy offenders showed restorative actions to reduce re-offending rates by about 20 percent. There is a strong evidence base to suggest Restorative Justice approaches are effective at both reducing repeat offending and improving victim satisfaction rates in older children when used correctly.
Girls tend to commit less serious crimes than boys; their offending is often a response to emotional problems and relationship difficulties with parents, partners, and friends. Because of their relatively low number, the distinct needs of girls sometimes get overlooked in the juvenile Criminal Justice System. A study on young girl offenders concluded that girls did not respond well to gender-neutral approaches – where rehabilitation services designed primarily for boys are adapted to accommodate the needs of girls. But they responded well to gender-specific approaches, where services are specifically designed for, and provided solely for girls. This research suggests that in order for Restorative Justice to be most effective for young women offenders, a tailored approach which takes into account their specific needs is necessary.
We can make Restorative Justice work for girls who have offended by creating support structures within the Criminal Justice System which ensure that young women’s experiences as both victims and offenders are acknowledged and addressed. By embracing these changes, Restorative Justice can be a transformative tool for young women.
If you would like to share your experiences with Restorative Justice, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me at SinghN30@cardiff.ac.uk.