Victim-Offender Mediation provides the prospect for victims to heal, emotionally and psychologically through meeting and communicating with their offenders. Victim-Offender mediation allows the victims the opportunity to be treated more than a mere witness. It also provides an opportunity for the victim to be part of the outcome of justice. The victims are given the invaluable opportunity to confront the offenders in a situation that allows the latter to fully understand how the crime has affected their life and to ask questions about why the crime was committed against them. Victim-Offender Mediation has a cathartic effect that liberates the victim from the haunting experience.
Victim-Offender Mediation has the advantage of empowering the victim to devise a restitution agreement that is personal to them and to the crime committed against them. Although restitution is not the primary purpose of Victim-Offender Mediation, restitution serves a very important function. Victims feel empowered and satisfied when they choose a form of restitution that…show more content… To avoid criminal liability and punishment, the offender in the traditional criminal justice system would normally deny responsibility and often detach themselves from the proceedings by not communicating his feelings or remorse either in words, deeds or body language. In some instances, offenders have subdued their sincere desires to approach the victim in regret and contrition. In contrast when offenders partake in Victim-Offender Mediation, they are placed in an intimate encounter with their victims where they are expected to acknowledge their wrongdoing. The human nature aspect of Victim-Offender Mediation produces a sincere feeling of remorse within the offender. Therefore, Victim-Offender Mediation offers a more effective way of dealing with offenders, rather than solely concentrating on