Communicating Apology and Perceptions of Forgiveness in Youth Justice Conference Processes

• In Event: Moving Toward Rehabilitative Approaches to Juvenile Justice

Abstract

Restorative justice conferences are facilitated meetings that bring together young offenders and their victims in a respectful conversation about the offence and its impact. As such, restorative justice conference processes draw heavily on the oral language skills of young offenders, such that they are able to effectively communicate not only factual accounts of their offending behaviour, but also various emotional states they experienced before, during and after the offending occurred. Prior research on the oral language skills of young offenders indicates that a substantial proportion have significant language deficits that can impact their ability to effectively communicate emotion during conference encounters. This paper draws on observational and interview data from a number of young offenders who participated in a restorative justice conference to better understand the impact that oral language skills may have on young offenders’ ability to effectively communicate emotion (e.g., remorse, sorrow and regret) and their perceptions of forgiveness from the victims they have harmed.

Author

• Hennessey Hayes, Griffith University