Survivor initiated-restorative justice as a pathway to justice for sexual assault in the Australian Capital Territory

The ANU convened a Symposium on Survivor Initiated-Restorative Justice as a Pathway to Justice for Sexual Assault on 27 August, 2021. The aim of the Symposium was to highlight the role that restorative justice can play in addressing the needs of survivors of sexual assault in the ACT. As MLA Dr Marisa Paterson who opened the Symposium reflected, sexual violence in Australia is endemic and broad scale cultural change is urgently required. In her words, we are at a critical junction, and action is needed now. The Symposium sought to identify what restorative pathways are currently open to survivors, and what other ones could be developed, and how.

Programme with time stamps

0:00 Welcome, Acknowledgement of Country and Housekeeping, Miranda Forsyth and Meredith Rossner, ANU

5:39 Introductory remarks, Dr. Marisa Paterson, MLA

13:57 Panel 1 - Setting the Scene
John Braithwaite (ANU), Matisse Coyle (survivor and RJU participant)l; Richard Denning (current head, ACT Restorative Justice Unit); Amanda Lutz (former head ACT Restorative Justice Unit), Heather Page (RJU Facilitator)
Facilitator: Miranda Forsyth (ANU)

58:05 Panel 2 - Understanding the justice needs of survivors of sexual assault and harassment
Nina Funnell (journalist and sexual assault survivor advocate); Paula McGrady (community representative affiliated with Canberra Rape Crisis Centre); Eve Walker (Post Graduate Students Association President, ANU); Sue Webeck (ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Centre)
Facilitator: Richard Denning (ACT RJU)

1:45:55 Panel 3- What could and does survivor-initiated RJ look like in practice?
Clair Berman-Robinson (Restorative justice Conferencing, Queensland); Thea Deakin-Greenwood (Transforming Justice Australia); Kendra Russell (Community Educator and Trainer, CASA House, Victoria); Estelle Zinsstag (Edinburgh Napier University; KU Leuven, Belgium, via pre-recorded interview)
Facilitator: Meredith Rossner (ANU)

2:37:52 Panel 4 - Next steps: what is needed to safely advance survivor-initiated restorative justice as a pathway, both in and out of the criminal justice system?
Shane Drumgold (ACT DPP); Detective Sergeant Michael Woodburn (AFP); Leah House (ACT Victim Support, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Victim Liaison Officer); Claudia Maclean (Women’s Legal Centre ACT)
Facilitator: Amanda Lutz

3:27:50 Closing Remarks and Next Steps Heidi Yates, ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner