TY - JOUR
T1 - Victim involvement in forensic psychiatric treatment
T2 - opportunities and challenges from a restorative justice perspective
AU - Dalhuisen, Lydia
AU - Knoppers, Mieke
AU - Rijnhout, Rianka
AU - Meynen, Gerben
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Victims have a right to participate in restorative justice practices, also if offenders are detained within forensic mental healthcare. However, the deployment of restorative justice interventions in the context of forensic psychiatry is limited. This study aims to gain more insight in opportunities and challenges regarding victim engagement in forensic psychiatry. To achieve this, a narrative review study and an elite interview study with ten key figures in the field of victim-offender engagement within forensic psychiatry were carried out. Both studies focused on the following three themes: first, the impact of various diagnoses on victim engagement; second, the effects of victim-offender interaction on treatment, and, third, challenges for victim-offender interaction. The main findings are that restorative justice can, in principle, be carried out successfully within a forensic psychiatric context and that no diagnostic category on the part of the offender should be excluded in advance. Furthermore, victim engagement can contribute to the treatment of mentally disordered offenders by increasing awareness, motivation and compliance, improve self-image and uncover areas of concern. Apart from these opportunities, several challenges–such as adequate preparation, correct timing, and expectation management–have to be taken into account for effective restorative justice practices.
AB - Victims have a right to participate in restorative justice practices, also if offenders are detained within forensic mental healthcare. However, the deployment of restorative justice interventions in the context of forensic psychiatry is limited. This study aims to gain more insight in opportunities and challenges regarding victim engagement in forensic psychiatry. To achieve this, a narrative review study and an elite interview study with ten key figures in the field of victim-offender engagement within forensic psychiatry were carried out. Both studies focused on the following three themes: first, the impact of various diagnoses on victim engagement; second, the effects of victim-offender interaction on treatment, and, third, challenges for victim-offender interaction. The main findings are that restorative justice can, in principle, be carried out successfully within a forensic psychiatric context and that no diagnostic category on the part of the offender should be excluded in advance. Furthermore, victim engagement can contribute to the treatment of mentally disordered offenders by increasing awareness, motivation and compliance, improve self-image and uncover areas of concern. Apart from these opportunities, several challenges–such as adequate preparation, correct timing, and expectation management–have to be taken into account for effective restorative justice practices.
KW - Forensic psychiatry
KW - forensic psychiatric treatment
KW - resocialization
KW - restorative justice
KW - victim-offender interaction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182474308&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09540261.2024.2303056
DO - 10.1080/09540261.2024.2303056
M3 - Review article
SN - 0954-0261
JO - International Review of Psychiatry
JF - International Review of Psychiatry
ER -