Citation

Hester M, Williamson E, Eisenstein N, Abrahams H, Aghtaie N, Bates L, Gangoli G, Robinson A, Walker SJ, McCarthy E, Matolcsi A, Mulvihill N. Violence Against Women 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10778012231214772

PMID

37981791

Abstract

This article explores "how do victims-survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) experience and perceive justice?" based on interviews with 251 victims-survivors with experience of different types of GBV and criminal, civil, and family justice systems. Victims-survivors were found to have multiple perceptions of justice, related to different points in their journey following abuse and regarding individual, community, and societal responses. Perceptions relate to accountability; fairness in outcome and process; protection from future harm; recognition; agency; empowerment; affective justice; reparation; and social transformation. Current understandings of justice in legislative and policy approaches reproduce the "justice gap" by failing to take account of how survivors themselves understand and demand justice.

Language: en

Keywords

gender-based violence; inequalities; justice systems; victim-survivor perspectives