Forgiveness : A Victim Offender Mediation Story With The Community Justice Initiatives Association

Forgiveness has a different context depending on where the person is from or what he believes. Religion places a great emphasis on the view of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.

Life, as we all know is saturated with misfortune. Most of us are able to go through these and learn from and exempt ourselves. Yet, this isn’t always the case. People are faced with bone riveting experiences that often take a long time to get over, if they ever do get over it. These episodes brew in our brain popping up at the most random points often bringing our tone down. Although these experiences may scare us and fill us with ruefulness and penitence, we can’t continue to live in the past and let these regrets habituate us. Self forgiveness is a remedy to healing and to moving on in life, no matter how hard it is.

Fagliano, S. (2008, May 19). How Victim-Offender Mediation Impacts Juvenile Offenders. Retrieved from Stanford.edu: http://web.stanford.edu/dept/URBS/programs/documents/faglianothesis.pdf

According to Victim-Offender Mediation and Violent Crimes: On the way to Justice by Ilyssa Wellikoff says, "Victim-offender mediation, which developed in the United States around 1970, has obtained a reputation as being an effective and viable form of restorative justice. This program unites victims with their offenders in order to facilitate dialogue that will aid in both the victim's and the offender's healing. " The United States focuses more on just punishing the offender and does not consider how the victim feels of the situation. The United States first instinct is to keep reincarnating the offender instead of trying to figure out a better solution for them. Victim-offender mediation allows the victim to be part of the process after the offence has been made.

As is David’s case he was ordered by the court to have no contact with his victim’s family. This seems to prevent closure for David and does not let allow him to show the positive changes he made in his life. David had no prior knowledge of his victim his case was an example of wrong place at the wrong time, while under the influence of substances. The court attempts to protect the victims of abuse by not allowing perpetrators to have contact, but victim-offender mediation has been an effective program that benefits both

Receiving the forgiveness of someone who has been wronged is a hard thing to do, it takes an understanding of one another for it to be achieved. One must see what was done wrong and why it affected the person the way it did. However, it isn’t just a one-way street, the affected person must also understand why the action was committed and what emotion or emotions drove it. The act of giving forgiveness and gaining it requires an effort from both sides to be made in order for the emotional healing process to begin. This concept is shown in numerous areas throughout the book, Touching Spirit Bear. There are many periods of time in the book where a character recognizes how they’ve impacted another character, whether it be physically or emotionally

They discuss the crime and what impact it has had on both the victim and the offender. Restorative process consists of individuals who give support to the offender and the victim during their conversation. There are mediators which help the victim and the offender in the discussion of the impact of the crime and try to help resolve any issues. This process is generally separated into three different portions; these are the preparation for the pre-conference, the conference, and the follow up conference.

Victim offender mediation works to bring conflicting parties together to engage in speaking and hopefully negotiating a mutually agreeable solution (Dhami, 2016). Research shows that the most common outcome of victim offender mediation is an apology and is often expected by the parties (Dhami, 2016). Victims may decide on the mediation process to teach the offender a lesson in accountability. During the process, typically the offender is required to admit responsibility, acknowledge harm, express remorse, promise they will not do the offense again, and offer some form of restitution (Dhami, 2016).

The victim offender mediation was talked about in Restoring Justice chapter 2. In a victim offender mediation the victim and offender both get together and talk about what happened. I think that this would really help both the victim and the offender get passed what has happened. It could help the offender to explain why they did the crime but also because it would let the offender see what has happened to the victim as a result of what they have done. Usually the victim never gets to share how the crime has affected them and sometimes they never really move forward and get over what has happened.

Part of this is having victim-offender conferences, to work on the relationship between the two individuals: the victim and offender. It is a way for the offender to be able to try to right what he or she has wronged. I like the idea of this because I know at a time when I was victimized, I wanted nothing more than to be face to face with the man that victimized me, and ask him why he did what he did. I wanted an answer, and I wanted an apology. I assume that I am not the only person that feels this way. I think that I would have been more likely to forgive him had I had that face-to-face conversation with a mediator. To be completely honest, I do not think I have forgiven him yet, and I think it is because I never got the closure that is possible within this

In this research design, the purpose of the study will be to understand if there is a correlation between juvenile delinquency and victim offender mediation. In the adult criminal justice system, victim offender mediation has been something that has shown great success in situations where both parties are open to the program. In the instance of juvenile delinquents, the question is whether victim offender mediation will have a positive effect on the juveniles, therefore leading to a higher percentage of recidivism and lower amount of juvenile arrests and court cases. Victim-offender mediation is a process that provides interested victims of primarily property crimes and minor assaults the opportunity to meet the juvenile or adult offender,

Throughout the course of human history, violence has been a reoccurring theme in the conquest for power in countries across the planet. Understanding the ideology behind some of this violence have puzzled historians and psychologists for centuries; furthermore, the presence of reconciliation between the victims and perpetrators after some of these horrific acts of terror is even more astonishing. This form of reconciliation was a significant factor during South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) formed in 1996. After close analysis, I have been able to identify the difference between the similar terms of reconciliation and forgiveness, understand the evaluation process of reconciliation between victims and perpetrators

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) refers to “any means of settling disputes outside of the courtroom” (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2018, p. 457). In light of heavy caseloads and budgetary constraints, ADR is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to court and incarceration. Presuming I am the victim in this case, I would opt for victim-offender mediation. The purpose of victim-offender mediation is very similar to ADR’s mediation, the difference being that instead of trying to settle a dispute, victim-offender mediation seeks to repair the harm done by crime. According to our text “there are four steps to the process, case referral and intake, preparation for mediation, mediation, and follow-up” (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral,

Forgiveness is a hard thing to give because forgiveness of another human being involves having you to forgive yourself. It seems a lot easier to withhold forgiveness and remain a victim. The forgiveness that I have given away or I have received has shaped who I am today, therefore becoming a part of me.