Restorative Justice and Sexual Harm: A Pathway to Gender Equality and Justice Transformation

Abstract

Following in the wake of the "Hockey Canada trial" in 2025, this article begins from the recognition that sexual harm is a complex social problem of gender inequality that requires a transformative approach to remediate effectively. Restorative justice is one such transformative approach. In Ontario, however, where the Hockey Canada trial took place, Crown prosecution policy states that individuals charged with sexual offences are categorically ineligible to be diverted to restorative programs at the pre-trial stage. In other provinces, there are similar policies and other moratoriums in place that limit the use of restorative justice to varying degrees. Building on insights from the criminal law, feminist legal theory, and penal abolition fields, this article argues that these policies should be revised and moratoriums should be lifted to enable restorative justice to be more widely available in sexual harm cases.

Keywords: Restorative Justice, Sexual Harm, Gender Equality, Criminal Law, Human Rights, Bill C-16, Sexual Assault, Transformative Justice, Abolition, Restorative Practices, Relational Theory, Feminist Legal Theory, Law and Sexuality, Criminal Procedure