Mediation - a premise of promoting assisted resilience for both victim and offender

Mediation between victim and offender is part of the concept of Restorative Justice, a process within which the victim and the offender meet face to face before a mediator and attempt a restorative settlement of the conflict. Restorative Justice implies the existence of a much deeper connection between the victim, offender and community than the one taken by the official system of criminal justice. The victim and the offender are members of the community and they need to go back to their old life within that community, surpassing the difficult situation by which they went through as result of having committed the offence In this regard, the concept of restorative justice emphasises the social interactions (including emotional, social and economic aspects), between the victim, the offender and the community. The restorative approach relates directly to the conflict and empowers the relationships based on respect, cooperation and responsibility between those who commit offence, victims and the community members. Crime causes immediate negative effects in the personal and social life of those directly involved (victim and offender) but also long term consequences which have an impact up on the two main characters both at personal and social level, unless are appropriately managed. We make reference both, to the victim's physical and psychical traumas, and also to the psychical pressure, the labelling, and the stigmatisation which the offence author is submitted to, simultaneously with the latter's introduction in the criminal system and punishing him. The article analyses mediation between victim and offender as condition of promoting assisted resilience in this particular context, relating to the general characteristics of mediation, to the objectives of the specific type of mediation and to the techniques used within it. There are also presented the results of some specialty studies which support the article idea.