Legal system support of crime survivors and attitudes on justice

Researchers have demonstrated the impact of victimization on mental health, and survivor dissatisfaction with legal processes and services. Recent literature supports the efficacy of restorative justice programs that started in response to retributive justice and its inability to directly address survivor harm. Thus, the current study examined how crime survivors perceive legal system support and attitudes towards restorative justice, with an undergraduate sample recruited from UTC’s SONA system and an online cloud-survey sample. Participants completed a survey that asked about their victimization experience(s), and legal system and restorative justice attitudes. Analyses examined mean differences between non-victims and victims, and subjective victimization impact groups. The results indicated that survivors maintain less positive legal system attitudes, and hesitance towards restorative justice. Open responses addressed barriers faced by survivors, systemic remedies, and prioritization of survivor healing. The implications are that the current study could inform policy, practice, and victim-focused alternative justice approaches.