The ADR Research Network is a group of Australian dispute resolution academics. Blogging & tweeting high quality, critical dispute resolution scholarship.
The Australasian Dispute Resolution Research Network is pleased to be hosting its 13th research roundtable on 27-28 November 2025 at Monash University Clayton campus, Melbourne. The roundtable is supported by the Faculty of Law at Monash University and the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation.
The roundtables are designed to encourage a collaborative and supportive research environment in which papers are work-shopped and discussed in detail. Papers in draft form are distributed one month ahead of time to participants, to enable thoughtful and constructive quality feedback.
We welcome proposals that consider dispute resolution from a scholarly, critical and/or empirical perspective. Topics can be addresses for any disciplinary perspective and we are especially interested in interdisciplinary approaches to dispute resolution. We particularly encourage submissions from postgraduate students and early career researchers. All proposals will be considered. Papers must not have been published or submitted for publication, as the focus is work in progress.
There will be a limited number of papers accepted for inclusion in the roundtable discussions. A panel will select roundtable papers from abstracts submitted. The aim is to be as inclusive as time and numbers allow. The following selection criteria will be applied:
Papers take a scholarly, critical and/or empirical perspective on an area of dispute resolution;
The roundtable will include a spread of participants across stages of career; and
A well-balanced range of work will be presented at the roundtable to provide diversity, to develop the field and to enable cohesive discussion.
Participation is on a self-funded basis.
We will also be asking you to draft a short (1,000 words max) blog post about your paper prior to the roundtable. Our blog reaches over 17,000 individuals per year and has over 25,000 hits – so your blog will be widely read. You will have a chance to fix up your blog post after the roundtable in case you’d like to make any adjustments after feedback.
On the day, speakers are given up to 30 minutes for presentation, with 30 minutes for feedback and discussion. Two primary commentators will be appointed for each paper.
Attendance at the Round Table is only open to individuals who are contributing to the scholarly discussions by presenting a paper, or commentating and/or chairing a session.
About the Australasian Dispute Resolution Research Network
The Australasian Dispute Resolution Research Network brings together leading dispute resolution scholars and provides a collaborative environment to foster, nurture and enrich high quality research and scholarship. The Network is inclusive and forward-looking and seeks to bring together emerging, mid-career and established scholars to build excellence in the field and provide peer support. Network activities are expressly designed to provide a supportive and collegial presentation environment in which meaningful discussion and constructive feedback is provided to the presenter.
Network activities include maintaining the ADR Research Network blog at www.adrresearch.net on Twitter and conducting annual scholarly round tables of work in progress since 2012.
Membership of Australasian Dispute Resolution Research Network
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The way to become a member of the ADR Research Network is to subscribe to the blog. This is our primary means of communication.
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This post is part of a series of the best blog posts written by undergraduate law students enrolled in 2024 in Non-Adversarial Justice at Monash Law.
The criminal justice system often leaves victim-survivors feeling that they themselves are on trial, paving the way for Restorative Justice (‘RJ’) to emerge as a compelling alternative. However, is RJ suitable for responding to sexual violence? More importantly, does it resonate with the experiences of First Nations women, who are significantly overrepresented in sexual violence statistics?
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) yesterday released its report, Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence, recommending use of RJ in some sexual violence matters. In particular, the ALRC recommends funding for First Nations communities to design, build, and deliver accredited restorative justice programs for First Nations people (recommendation 63).
This blog post explores the extent to which RJ can effectively respond to sexual violence, and how it can be implemented to respect First Nations women’s experiences. We hope the ALRC’s proposals lead to prioritising First Nations voices in discussions around RJ as a response to sexual violence.
Due to the limited availability of direct testimonies, this post primarily draws on general perspectives of First Nations women gathered from reports by First Nations organisations and the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (‘Women’s Voices’) project.
The need for an alternative justice response
First Nations women experience sexual violence at a rate approximately three times higher than non-Indigenous women. This alarming statistic both stems from and perpetuates the ongoing negative impacts of colonisation, which have resulted in increased socioeconomic disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.
The criminal justice system often compounds this issue, by failing to provide an adequate response to First Nations women. A staggering 90% of violence goes unreported due to a fundamental fear of the police, compounded by police inaction and discriminatory decision-making. First Nations women describe their interactions with the justice system as having exacerbated the impacts of violence and worsened their trauma. Research shows that typical ‘Western’ responses to sexual violence, including the current criminal justice response, are often ineffective for First Nations communities.
The question then becomes whether alternative forms of justice, such as RJ, can provide a better response to sexual violence.
What is RJ and how can it respond to sexual violence?
RJ is multifaceted concept, sometimes perceived as confusing and incoherent. The Australian Law Reform Commission defines RJ is a ‘victim-centred, party-led process’ focused on identifying and addressing the harm caused by the offence and exploring options for repairing that harm’. Unlike the criminal justice system, which prioritises punishing the offender, RJ is designed to address the victim-survivor’s needs and experiences. It typically involves a voluntary and confidential dialogue between the victim-survivor and personal responsible.
The use of RJ in cases of sexual violence has sparked debate. Proponents argue that RJ can meet the complex needs of victim-survivors in ways the criminal justice system often cannot. For instance, victim-survivors often need to tell their story in their own words, have their story believed, and ask the person responsible any unresolved questions, and see them take accountability. RJ can provide a platform for these needs to be met.
However, critics are concerned that RJ risks re-privatising and decriminalising sexual violence. It may be seen as a ‘soft’ approach that diminishes the seriousness of sexual violence. Given that persons responsible often abuse the trust of victim-survivors, there are concerns that they might exploit their position of relative power in the RJ process and further harm victim-survivors. Additionally, RJ processes might not be culturally appropriate for some participants and might face challenges with linguistically diverse individuals.
Conclusively determining the effectiveness of RJ as a response to sexual violence is difficult due to the limited number of peer-reviewed studies. However, the risks of RJ are real and should be managed through a well-designed principle-based approach.
Voluntary participation: Participants join voluntarily and can leave at any point.
Accountability: The person responsible must be truthful and admit to their actions.
Prioritising victim-survivors: RJ processes should prioritise the victim survivor’s needs and interests.
Safety and respect: RJ processes should adapt to different needs, with power imbalances addressed and skilled experts in sexual violence involved.
Confidentiality: What happens during RJ remains strictly confidential.
Transparency: Anonymised data is used to continually improve RJ processes.
Integrated justice response: RJ processes should work alongside the criminal justice system and therapeutic services.
Clear governance: Legislation should empower and oversee RJ.
Adopting a RJ model based on these principles shows promising potential for dealing effectively with sexual violence. The question then, is how might it be successfully implemented for First Nations women?
RJ and First Nations women: a potential solution
Research in the context of family violence indicates that First Nations women tend to favour RJ more than non-First Nations women. This preference is linked to their perception of the criminal justice system as oppressive and contributing to the violence against them. First Nations women interviewed by Heather Nancarrow expressed optimism that RJ processes could empower them. They believed that involving their families and broader community in RJ would lead to successful outcomes. A practical model for this might involve Elders and respected members of First Nations communities on an expert panel that conveners in the RJ conference could consult with.
By offering opportunities for self-determination that respect cultural values, RJ might help First Nations women feel empowered, and lead to more meaningful resolutions to sexual violence.
RJ and First Nations women: challenges and concerns
Despite these potential benefits, the application of RJ must carefully navigate concerns raised by First Nations women. There are significant fears that RJ processes could inadvertently perpetuate harm rather than heal it. Some women fear that RJ, if not carefully managed, might become a vehicle for reinforcing power imbalances within their communities or become another ‘white justice model’ that doesn’t fully respect or address their needs.
There are also concerns about how RJ might be received within their communities. Concerns include the potential for male leaders or community members to misuse the RJ process to their advantage, or for cultural arguments to be employed in ways that undermine victim-survivors’ needs.
For RJ processes to be an effective response to sexual violence, it is crucial to design them with these risks in mind and establish strong safeguards.
What needs to be done?
To effectively implement RJ for First Nations women, a collaborative design process involving meaningful engagement with their lived experiences is vital. Many First Nations organisations, such as Djirra, stress that any RJ model must be co-designed with First Nations women to ensure it is sufficiently sensitive to their needs and does not become another mechanism of oppression. It is necessary to hear from First Nations women directly to identify the wellbeing, safety, procedural and privacy aspects they might need for an RJ model to work.
Ultimately, the potential benefits of RJ as a response to sexual violence appear to outweigh the challenges, provided a principle-based approach is implemented to address the risks. RJ offers a promising alternative to the criminal justice system for addressing sexual violence against First Nations women. Its success, however, depends on the active participation of families and communities as well as the establishment of a culturally safe environment. Through a collaborative design process, RJ has the potential to be a powerful response to sexual violence that aligns with the experiences of First Nations women.
ChatGPT (version 4.0) was used to check grammatical errors and suggest improvements in writing style in this blog post.
About Lavanya de Mel
Lavanya is a final-year law student at Monash University, minoring in Economics and Business Strategy. She is passionate about improving access to justice for culturally diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. Later this year, she will begin her legal career as a graduate lawyer at a commercial law firm, where she hopes to explore the role of alternative dispute resolution in a commercial context.
The Australian Dispute Resolution Research Network 