Handbook on Restorative justice programmes

5.1.1 Crime victims
In all restorative justice processes, it is important to protect the interests of
the victim and to ensure that re-victimization does not occur. This may
require that a considerable amount of preparatory work be undertaken
with the victim prior to any encounter with the offender. This may take
weeks, months, or, in the case of very serious offences that have resulted
in the incarceration of the offender, years. This pre-meeting preparation is
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5. The dynamics 
of restorative justice
interventions

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designed to ensure that the victim is emotionally and psychologically pre-
pared to engage in a dialogue with the offender. The Basic Principles
(para. 8) states that restorative justice processes should be used only with
the free and voluntary consent of the victim and further, that the victim
should be able to withdraw such consent at any time during the process.