ABSTRACT

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are a feature of the criminal justice landscape in Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, parts of Western Europe, and South Australia. Prior research indicates that members of the public may oppose CoSA due to a belief that by supporting perpetrators, CoSA undermine the interests of survivors of sexual violence. However, no research has considered the views of survivors of sexual violence themselves. The current study addressed this gap by conducting semi-structured, qualitative interviews (n = 33) with adult female survivors of sexual violence on their views about CoSA. Participants’ perspectives were diverse, although in the main indicated broad support (albeit often cautious and/or contingent support) for CoSA. Understanding the views of survivors will enable CoSA programs across the globe to develop and deliver CoSA in ways that better meet the needs of survivors, as well as to address public resistance toward CoSA. Implications and future research priorities that emerge from the findings are discussed.

摘要

支持和问责圈 (CoSA) 是加拿大、美利坚合众国、英国、西欧部分地区和南澳大利亚刑事司法领域的一个特征。先前的研究表明，公众可能会反对 CoSA，因为他们认为 CoSA 支持犯罪者会损害性暴力幸存者的利益。然而，没有研究考虑过性暴力幸存者自己的观点。目前的研究通过对性暴力的成年女性幸存者就她们对 CoSA 的看法进行半结构化、定性访谈（n = 33）来解决这一差距。参与者的观点各不相同，但主要表明对 CoSA 的广泛支持（尽管通常是谨慎和/或有条件的支持）。了解幸存者的观点将使全球的 CoSA 计划能够以更好地满足幸存者需求的方式制定和实施 CoSA，并解决公众对 CoSA 的抵制。讨论了这些发现的影响和未来的研究重点。