Victim-Centered Restorative Responses to Interpersonal Violence: Learning from an Interrupted Evaluation

Restorative justice (RJ) is used as a victim-centered alternative to the criminal legal system for addressing interpersonal violence. The community-led Reimagining Expanded Choices Offering Victim Empowerment and Restoration (RECOVER) Project in Washington, DC, sought to expand restorative options for sexual assault and gun violence victims before its federal funding was terminated in April 2025. A qualitative program evaluation was conducted during active funding. Semi-structured interviews with staff members from the victim services organization implementing RECOVER (N = 15) explored their understandings of RJ and RECOVER, alongside perceptions of healing and early implementation. Using reflexive thematic analysis, two overarching themes were identified: (1) RJ as a victim-centered pathway to healing and justice; and (2) Barriers to RJ implementation and access. RJ was understood as a flexible, victim-centered pathway to healing and justice, emphasizing individualized, trauma-informed engagement, and opportunities for clarification and closure, with potential to involve supportive family and community networks. Barriers to implementation and access were identified, including limited experiential familiarity with RJ among staff, the positioning of RJ as a secondary or last-resort option within a hierarchy of services for crime victims, and varying levels of prior knowledge or hesitancy. Despite premature termination, meaningful organizational outcomes were generated. A collaborative meaning-making process supported shared understanding of the project’s restorative components, and a case flow and data touchpoints diagram was developed to clarify service pathways and inform program development. Findings highlight the promise of community-based RJ for victim-defined healing and vulnerability when relationship-based practice and learning-oriented evaluation are disrupted by funding instability.