Justice needs 'justice needs': understanding the justice interests of sexually harmed young people and moving towards a victim sensitive model of restorative justice.

Young people who are sexually harmed may experience a plethora of negative consequences that can endure into adulthood. By virtue of their young age and the nature of the harm, such young people are considered to bevulnerable. An important step in helping them to move beyond their victimisation experience is gaining knowledge about how they interpret theirvictimisation experiences, and understanding what they perceive to be appropriate and justice responses. That is, understanding their justice needs. Justice needs differ between individuals and also within individuals over time. Therefore, this study will reflect upon the justice needs expressed from a developmental prospective. Semi-structured interviewswill be conducted with young people who have experienced sexual harm togain an insight into how they experience and understand their victimisation. The interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology will be employed to gain a deep understanding of lived experience from the perspective of the victim. Additionally, the study examines the extent to which restorative justice programmes can address such justice needs, throughsemi-structured interviews with restorative justice professionals experienced in working in cases involving young people and sexual harm. Emerging research increasingly points to the potential benefits of restorative justice in cases of sexual violence and abuse, but only when such programmes are able to be sensitive to and address the needs of the individuals involved.