Offending Girls and Restorative Justice: A Critical Analysis

The contemporary popularity of restorative justice, within youth justice, has expanded significantly in recent decades. Despite this, there is a considerable lack of research which explores girls’ experiences of restorative justice interventions. Drawing on the experiences of young female offenders, who have participated in restorative justice conferencing, this article presents research findings generated from interviews undertaken with 15 girls and 13 youth justice practitioners, in order to critically analyse their views and experiences through a gendered lens. The analysis and discussion presented provides a critical insight into the ways in which girls’ experience, internalise and engage in restorative justice conferencing and how these experiences fundamentally conflict with practitioners’ views on conferencing with girls in the youth justice system.