Restorative Justice for Sexual Violence: Perspectives of People Who Have Committed Sexual Offences
DETAILS
Call for Papers
Restorative Justice for Sexual Violence: Perspectives of People Who Have Committed Sexual Offences
Journal: Journal of Criminal Psychology
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Special Issue
Abstract Submission Deadline: 1 October 2026
Manuscript Submission Opens: 4 January 2027
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 20 December 2027
The Journal of Criminal Psychology invites submissions for a Special Issue examining restorative justice in cases of sexual violence from the perspectives of people who have committed sexual offences, an area that remains comparatively underexplored in restorative justice research.
About the Special Issue
This Special Issue seeks to deepen understanding of how people who have committed sexual offences experience and interpret restorative justice processes. Particular attention is given to their understandings of accountability, responsibility, apology, repair, rehabilitation, and reintegration, as well as their motivations for participating in restorative approaches.
The issue also encourages critical examination of the ethical and practical complexities associated with such processes. This includes questions surrounding consent, coercion, power imbalances, risk, assessment, facilitation, and process design, alongside practitioner perspectives on implementing restorative justice safely and responsibly in cases involving sexual violence.
Topics of Interest
Submissions may address, but are not limited to:
Perspectives of people who have committed sexual offences
Lived experiences within restorative justice processes
Motivations for participating in restorative justice
Barriers to engagement in restorative justice
Understandings and constructions of accountability
Responsibility within restorative justice processes
Apology and acknowledgment of harm
Repair and restorative outcomes
Desistance following restorative justice
Rehabilitation of people who have committed sexual offences
Reintegration following restorative processes
Consent within restorative justice
Coercion and participation
Power imbalances
Ethical challenges in restorative justice for sexual violence
Risk-related considerations
Practitioner perspectives
Participant assessment and suitability
Restorative justice facilitation
Process design and implementation
Research Focus
The Special Issue particularly seeks research that centres the experiences and perspectives of people who have committed sexual offences while critically considering the ethical, practical, and risk-related implications of their participation in restorative justice.
Research examining how practitioners assess, facilitate, and design restorative processes in this context is also encouraged.
Submission Information
Abstract Submission Deadline: 1 October 2026
Abstracts should be sent to:
Dr Masahiro Suzuki — m.suzuki@lboro.ac.uk
Dr Estelle Zinsstag — E.Zinsstag@napier.ac.uk
Manuscript Submission Opens: 4 January 2027
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 20 December 2027
Full manuscripts should be submitted through the Journal of Criminal Psychology ScholarOne Manuscripts system.
Authors must select “Restorative Justice for Sexual Violence: Perspectives of People Who Have Committed Sexual Offences” from the Special Issue options during submission.
Submitted manuscripts must follow the journal's author guidelines, be original, and must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere while under review.
Guest Editors
Dr Masahiro Suzuki
Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Email: m.suzuki@lboro.ac.uk
Dr Estelle Zinsstag
Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom
Email: E.Zinsstag@napier.ac.uk
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