Feminising restorative justice : a critical exploration of offending girls' experiences of participating in restorative justice conferences

Supported by a growing political momentum, over the past two decades, the contemporary popularity of restorative justice has expanded significantly and it has become infiltrated within youth justice discourse, resulting in vast amounts of related research and literature. Despite an increase in restorative justice practice there is, to date, a considerable lack of research which explores girls’ experiences of restorative justice interventions. By focusing on the experiences of young female offenders, who have participated in restorative justice conferencing, the research study aims to address this gap in knowledge. By utilising Goffman’s (1963) perspective on stigma and a feminist influenced, gendered analysis of shame, the research study will fundamentally question the conceptual framework and theoretical premise upon which the development of restorative justice conferencing has been established. In doing so, it aims to raise important contextual arguments about the suitability of restorative justice conferencing used with girls who offend. Drawing upon a summary of empirical findings from interviews, undertaken with thirteen youth justice practitioners and fifteen girls, whose views have been excluded from youth justice discourse, an alternative view of their marginalised knowledge will be provided in order to encapsulate their experience of restorative justice conferencing through a gendered lens. The establishment of such alternative narratives will challenge the ways in which the youth justice system is holding girls accountable for their offending through gender-neutral restorative justice interventions, which fail to take cognisance of the context in which structural inequalities, in relation to gender, shape their formative experiences and have the potential to impact upon restorative justice conferencing.