Restorative and Transformative Solutions to Sexual Violence

Abstract

The criminal justice system rarely produces prosecutions in cases of sexual assault let alone true and enduring satisfaction for the victims and their families (Naylor, 2010). It offers little, if any, provision for perpetrators, their families, or the community that produced them (Hayden, 2012). Perhaps most importantly, it has neither stopped sexual violence nor curtailed it in any reassuring way in the United States, and by reaffirming male-dominated hierarchies and authoritarianism, such as in the police force and prisons, the criminal justice system maintains the culture of violence that gives rise to sexual assault and rape. This view is upheld by the target population to be studied: social justice and anti-authoritarian organizations.