Opening the black box of victim-offender mediation: Does participation in vom reduce offenders' risk of reoffending and, if so, how?

Victim-offender mediation (VOM) in criminal cases is a growing judicial practice in Europe and abroad. In VOM victim and offender have a conversation in presence of a trained mediator. This process can help victims to recover and offenders to take responsibility, make amends and decrease their risk of reoffending. Despite the demonstrated favorable link between VOM and recidivism, no empirical research exists that has addressed why and how participation in VOM reduces reoffending compared to non-participation. This dissertation aimed to open this ‘black-box’ of victim offender mediation and to unravel how and why participation in mediation is related to a lower risk of reoffending. It examined if participation in Dutch mediation practices is related to a lower risk of reoffending, which psychological change might underlie this behavior change and which elements of mediation might explain these outcomes.