ARE VICTIMS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL OFFENCES NOT ENTITLED TO FULL REPARATION OF DAMAGES? THE PROHIBITION OF CRIMINAL MEDIATION IN THESE OFFENCES IN THE LIGHT OF EUROPEAN STANDARDS

This study analyses, on the basis of the European normative framework, the legitimacy of the current prohibition of criminal mediation in Spanish law in relation to offences of gender-based violence and offences against sexual freedom. Departing from the model of restorative justice derived from the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/Rec(2018)8 and CM/Rec(2023)2, arguments are brought to the controversial debate on this measure aimed at reinforcing the thesis in favour of its repeal. It is shown that, from the perspective of an open and flexible (modern) concept of restorative justice, in line with the most relevant international and European standards on the subject, the reasons put forward in support of this prohibition lose meaning.