Challenging Cases: A guide to helping victims achieve their restorative justice goals with different degrees of offender participation.

This guide is for facilitators of restorative justice processes, based on research and practitioner experience. We consider cases in which offenders do not take full responsibility, are unremorseful, or unwilling to cooperate in some way. This is most often true in complex and sensitive cases, but could be relevant to any type of communication between a victim and offender. We found that victims can benefit enormously from restorative justice processes even in ‘less than ideal’ circumstances if they receive the right preparation and support. This guide provides a range of practical tips and issues to consider when facilitating this difficult type of case.