Sexual Violence is a Public Health Crisis

At least 1 in 2 women and 1 in 6 men experience sexual violence in their lifetime¹. The justice system is failing to reduce sexual violence. If anything, the problem is only getting worse.
Very few perpetrators are held accountable. And even out of those who are, victims say the adversial court process is retraumatizing.We need a different solution ->

Diversion is the key

Diversion is an alternate pathway to justice. Instead of going to trial and possibly prison, a defendant is given the choice to complete a diversion program instead. Diversion prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment. It is accountability outside of a prison sentence.
Diversion for sexual violence consists of sex offender treatment and restorative justice.Here's what that looks like ->

Sex Offender Treatment

Sex offender treatment is for anyone who has committed a sex offense no matter the context. The purpose of treatment is to educate the individual about consent and boundaries, prepare him to take accountability for the harm he caused, and help him understand the factors in his life and in our culture that led to the abusive behavior. Clinics are outpatient and can consist of individual and group therapy. Treatment can last for a few months to the full program length of 2.5 years depending on each individual's needs. It is a lot like making appointments to see a therapist.Treatment is essential in a diversion program for sexual violence. This is where the offender will put in the work to change. And this change takes time, which is why treatment lasts for months or years.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice centers the needs of the victim, asks what harm was caused and what is needed to repair that harm. In a restorative justice conference, the harm-doer takes full accountability, participants share how the crime affected them and ask questions, and then the harm-doer enters into an agreement to take actions to repair that harm.
Restorative justice can consist of one conference or many depending on the needs of each individual case. Participants meet with the facilitator beforehand to prepare for the conference, and the facilitator only brings participants together when she feels they are ready.Here's why we need diversion ->

Its economical

Incarcerating offenders is incredibly expensive. It costs us (taxpayers) somewhere between $60k and $80k per year to incarcerate one individual². When considering the high rates of sexual violence, if we were to incarcerate a sizable enough percentage of offenders to make any real impact, we would be spending 25% of our gross domestic product on prisons and 15% or more of the population would be in prison³. This is not practical. We need a better solution to reducing sexual violence.That solution is diversion. The cost of completing a diversion program for each individual would only be a few thousand dollars. This would be much more economical than a criminial trial and prison.

Its fast

Taking a case through a criminal trial often takes years. Courts are always backed up. And, it is a common strategy for the defense to purposefully delay hearing and trial dates in the hopes of wearing down the victim and making her quit.
This is incredibly difficult on victims. It is disruptive to their lives. And, having to hold onto that trauma for years is in itself another kind of trauma.Diversion would be much faster. The program could be started within weeks of a victim making a police report and completed in as short of a timeframe as a few weeks to three months depending on the case and the individual needs of that victim and offender.

Its victim-centered

Unlike a court trial, restorative justice is non-adversarial. By necessity, it is a voluntary process. The harm-doer has prepared ahead of time to take full accountability in the conference, and the victim is 100% believed. She is never doubted, shamed, or blamed. She is given the opportunity to express how the crime affected her and what she needs for the harm to be repaired. The victim's needs are placed front and center.

Its effective

Sex offender treatment has a very high success rate. Approx. 90% of those who complete it do not reoffend⁴.Similarly, restorative justice has been shown to result in a lower recidivism rate than incarceration⁵.Treatment and restorative justice are designed to change behavior rather than simply punish it.

Its compassionate

A criminal record and prison time often exacerbate the exact factors that contribute to criminal behavior - isolation from friends and family, outcasting, shaming, loss of community, job and housing instability, depression, deterioration of mental health.Diversion is an alternate pathway to accountability that is both compassionate and effective. It is designed to rehabilitate, repair, and heal those who have caused harm rather than perpetuate violence through a destructive system.

Its smart

Diversion is not "soft on crime".
Diversion is smart on crime.It is economical, fast, effective, victim-centered, and compassionate.If we are ever to have a hope of reducing sexual violence, diversion is what will get us there.Answering common questions and concerns about diversion ->

Where in the process will a case be diverted?

The first diversion program we create will be pre-charge. This means that if a prosecutor believes a case is eligible for diversion, they will offer this option before charging the case. The charge will show as pending on the offender's record until diversion is completed. If diversion is completed, there will be no charge on the offender's record.In the future, we hope to make diversion available as an option after charging and after a plea deal (called post-plea diversion). In this version, the defendant would plead guilty. Then, once he has completed diversion, his charge and conviction would be expunged. Expungement means the record is sealed from public view but still viewable by the courts.

What if the offender does not complete diversion?

If the offender starts diversion but does not complete it, the case will return to the usual court process. The prosecutor will be notified and will then proceed with charging the case and moving it towards trial.

Will victims have the choice of whether the case is diverted or not?

In most instances, yes. When the prosecutor believes the case would be appropriate for diversion, the victim will be contacted first and asked whether she wants the case to be diverted or not.If the victim agrees, then the offender would be contacted and asked if he would like to complete diversion.

What if the victim does not want to participate in restorative justice?

Victims can choose to not participate in restorative justice. The case can still be diverted and the offender can still benefit from restorative justice without the victim being present. Community members or a surrogate victim can attend the restorative justice conference in place of the victim.

Why would the offender choose diversion?

Diversion gives offenders the opportunity to be accountable and admit wrongdoing without being punished for it. It is usually very appealing to offenders because they avoid the negative consequences of having a charge on their record, going through the expensive process of a court trial, and risking a conviction and prison sentence. Where diversion for sexual assault has been done before, offender participation was very high (close to 100%)⁶.

Are offenders 'gaming the system' if they go through diversion?

No. Diversion IS accountability. There is no way for an offender to have completed diversion and 'gamed' the system. The system was designed for him to be able to go through diversion. There is always the possibility that an offender might be insincere while simply going through the motions of diversion. But, diversion is still a consequence. And no matter how insincere an offender is, he will still learn important lessons from treatment and restorative justice.We cannot make anyone change. Neither prison nor any other punishment can ever make someone change. That should never be our goal. Diversion is a consequence that gives an offender the resources and support to give him the best opportunity to change.Diversion also gives us the ability to hold more offenders accountable. And, surety of being held accountable is a much better deterrent to crime than severity of the punishment.

Is it safe legally for an offender to admit wrongdoing during diversion?

Yes. In Minnesota, documents or communications made within a restorative justice conference are protected from being used against a defendant in civil or criminal court⁷.

Is it emotionally safe for a victim to speak with an offender in a restorative justice conference?

Yes. Facilitators are well trained to make sure that nothing harmful is said during a conference. They know how to course correct or end a conference early if the conversation takes a wrong turn. Further, facilitators spend weeks or months meeting one-on-one with participants to prepare them for the conference. Facilitators do not let the offender and victim meet if the offender is not ready to take full accountability.

Will diversion mean fewer offenders are being held accountable by the justice system?

No. In fact, the opposite will be true. Diversion is much more efficient, less expensive, and less time consuming than putting defendants through a court trial and giving them a prison sentence. For this reason, diversion will give us the practical ability to hold many more offenders accountable.Further, it will not "take away from" the traditional justice system route of cases going to trial. Victims who want their case to go to trial will still be able to make that choice.

Is this diversion program one-size-fits-all?

NO! Absolutely not. This is something we in the Minnesota chapter of Survivors 4 Justice Reform are very passionate about. We believe that each case is as unique as people are unique, and justice should be tailored to each individual case. We are working hard to create a diversion program that will be flexible enough to accomodate a wide variety of sexual assault cases and give victims the justice they seek and offenders the best opportunity for accountability, growth and change.

Learn more

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Help us create a more compassionate and effective justice system which finally reduces sexual violence and centers survivor healing.Sign the petition to create diversion.
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