Lydia's Story: Sexual Assault
Lydia was referred to the Restorative Justice service by her Victim Liaison Officer. She was the victim of a prolonged sexual assault at her home 13 years ago. Both offenders were caught, arrested and charged, and received lengthy prison sentences. A Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) was put in place. Lydia was interested in pursuing restorative justice with one - Naseem. She was clear from the outset that she wanted this to be via indirect means only, as she found the thought of a face-to-face meeting too stressful. She stated that she was tired of "feeling like a victim" and wanted to actively engage in a process, rather than having things happen to her. While she had the opportunity to have her Victim Personal Statement read at parole hearings, she also felt that these were sanitised and that they "weren't exactly" her voice. She expressed concern that Naseem had been released to open prison conditions on a number of occasions, but returned to closed. Her fear was that he was committing further offences, that there were more victims exactly like her, or that he was trying to get back to harm her (he had made a threat in court when he was sentenced).
Discussions were had with all partner agencies who were managing the risk of both parties. All were agreeable to initial discussions taking place, dependent on agreement from the courts. A variation to the SOPO was made at Court to allow indirect contact for the purposes of Restorative Justice and only for the purposes of Restorative Justice.
Facilitators met with Naseem, who had expressed an interest in Restorative Justice but who would have been ineligible due to the nature of the offence and restrictions about the Restorative Justice contract. He was surprised to hear that Lydia wished to engage, and stated that he was willing to do "whatever she needed, if it would help her". He described offender behaviour work he had undertaken since being in prison, and how this had informed awareness of himself, his upbringing, his offence, and his future.
With this knowledge, Lydia began to shape the idea of what she wanted. Initially, she wanted to write a letter with no response. This developed, so that she wanted to write the letter, ensure that the letter was read to Naseem, and his response fed back to her by facilitators. She was amenable to the idea of a response, but stated it was not necessary. Facilitators helped her compile this letter, and brought it to Naseem. He appeared visibly affected by her comments and asked for the opportunity to respond. Lydia agreed to this, citing surprise that he had agreed to meet with facilitators, surprise that he had agreed to the process, and surprise that he was willing to hear what she had to say and respond.
Naseem spent time and effort on his letter, showing great awareness of the impact his words could have, and ensuring they could not be misinterpreted. He also clarified that he had never been returned to prison for further offences. This was a source of huge relief to Lydia, who stated "My fear has been that the person he was then is still the person that he is now. He's not. I can see he's changed. He needs to go and live his life now, and I need to go and live mine. I've found my peace now, and I hope he can find his." She asked that this feedback be passed to Naseem, who was moved by her comments, stating "I didn't expect her to respond. I definitely didn't expect her to respond that way."
Naseem is now due for parole. Historically, any changes to his circumstances have been a huge source of stress to Lydia. As the Restorative Justice process ends, she says "It doesn't worry me. I hope he gets it. He needs to go and live his life."
If you are interested in finding out more about how Restorative Justice might help you and you are based in West Yorkshire, please give us a call on 0800 783 1550 or email us at rjwestyorkshire@restorativesolutions.org.uk and we will be glad to help you.
