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Former-Member
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CSA MEDIATION

CAN MEDIATION WORK FOR SURVIVORS OF CSA?

Carolyn Worth is part of a unique restorative justice program.

A world-first Australian program is providing a platform for sexual abuse survivors to confront and communicate with perpetrators.

The restorative justice program, conducted by Melbourne's South East Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA), aims to mitigate some of the harm caused by abuse and help survivors move on with their lives.

According to ABS statistics, one in five women and one in 20 men have been victims of sexual abuse, yet the conviction rate for both reported and unreported cases is likely as low as one in 100.

That makes the program a potential alternative, but mediation sessions take place outside of the formal criminal justice process, meaning conversations and details raised during mediated sessions can't be used to incriminate alleged perpetrators.

How does it work?
Given the serious risk of traumatising individuals who have experienced abuse, mediated sessions only take place under strict conditions.

Alleged perpetrators must acknowledge and take some responsibility prior to meeting with abuse survivors. Even then, sessions do not always go ahead.

"I don't run every session I'm asked to," SECASA manager Carolyn Worth said.

"I'm not going to set up a forum for someone to be abusive."

Once SECASA has conducted preliminary research and deemed a case appropriate for mediation, a meeting or series of meetings between the perpetrator and abuse survivor are held under the supervision of a trained mediator and facilitator.

Understanding the impact
Anna, whose name has been changed, was sexually abused in her own bed by a male acquaintance. She reported the incident to police, but did not press charges.

"The fact that someone is capable of doing that scares me," Anna told The Law Report.

"For that reason, I wanted it reported to the police, just in case it had happened before, or in case it happens again, that they have a record that this person has a history of that.

"There was no point in going through pressing charges, because it was 'he said versus she said', and I don't want to go into a position where my character is questioned and my words are questioned.

"Going through the court process would have hurt me more, so I just never wanted to go ahead with pressing charges for that reason."

Instead, Anna pursued restorative justice through the SECASA program.

"I wanted the seriousness of it to come across to him. I wanted him to fully grasp how it had affected me, so he could put himself in my shoes," she said.

After a preliminary process, Anna participated in a mediated session with the man responsible for the abuse.

"There was no consent," she said.

"I wanted him to understand that what I was saying was very serious and honest. That I wasn't going overboard or overreacting about an event because I wasn't happy with it.

"That I had not invited him into my bed; I had not consented to being touched by him.

"At that point, he seemed to grasp it. He was noticeably upset by it, and I think quite ashamed."

Evaluation in progress
The idea that the SECASA program is an alternative to the criminal justice system makes it a potentially controversial proposition.

Liz Bishop is part of a team from the Michael Kirby Institute for Public Health and Human Rights at Monash University conducting an independent evaluation of the program, which has only recently been formalised and rolled out more widely.

"It is important to recognise that huge levels of energy and passion have gone into ensuring that the criminal justice system takes sexual assault seriously, so it's slightly contentious then to take it out of that system," said Dr Bishop.

Lecturer Liz Bishop is part of the restorative justice program.

"One of the feminist arguments against using restorative justice in this setting is there's a chance for re-traumatisation and there's a chance for the offender to perpetrate other and different [harms] against the person who they've already traumatised.

"The necessary aspect of ensuring that doesn't happen is having the right restorative justice facilitator."

With a rigorous screening process and the right mediator, Dr Bishop believes there is merit to the program, and says that those who have taken part agree.

"We've had some amazing responses from the people who have been through the process," she said.

"The victim or the victim's family have spoken of the power of this opportunity, that they have discovered that it has given them, in part or in whole, what they were seeking."

If you or anyone you know needs help:
Call lifeline 131114

abc news online THU APR 20, 2017

1 REPLY 1

Re: CSA MEDIATION

This is an interesting article @Former-Member.

I would be interested to hear from people who have used this program of mediation to see how they found the experience and how it assisted them following the mediation.

It is nice that there is an alternative option for those individuals who dont want to go through the legal/court process, such as the person sharing their experience in this article.

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