An alternative response: Developing restorative justice for sexual violence on BC university campuses

This capstone investigates how restorative justice can be implemented into existing sexual violence policies at three BC universities – SFU, UBC, and UVIC. Universities are currently underutilizing alternative dispute resolution techniques, which can be a very beneficial process for survivor-victims. An extensive literature review and expert interviews justified the assumption of this paper that a restorative justice option should be offered to survivor-victims who seek justice through their university. Case studies and an analysis of the existing policies inform the development of four policy options for consideration. I conclude by offering a short-term recommendation that universities partner with local restorative justice centres, followed by a long-term strategy to work towards the development of a comprehensive province-wide sexual violence policy and response for post-secondary institutions.