Ce projet de recherche s’intéresse aux expériences de femmes qui ont été victimes de violence à caractère sexuel (VACS) et qui ont choisi d’aborder ce vécu de violence au sein d’une démarche de rencontres détenus-victimes (RDV) offerte par le Centre de services de justice réparatrice (CSJR). La littérature souligne que les victimes de crimes violents contre la personne apprécient de façon générale les pratiques de justice réparatrice post-sentencielles. Toutefois, peu de recherches nous informent des spécificités de l’application de la justice réparatrice en contextes de VACS et des façons dont les personnes victimes en font l’expérience. Afin de contribuer au développement de la littérature sur la justice réparatrice en contexte de VACS, cette recherche se penche spécifiquement sur le modèle de justice réparatrice de crime apparenté développé par le CSJR. Afin d’identifier comment cette démarche a pu être, ou non, sécuritaire et positive pour des femmes qui ont été victimes de VACS, des entretiens qualitatifs ont été effectués auprès de 20 participantes. Les résultats indiquent que la démarche de justice réparatrice offerte par le CSJR a été vécue de façon positive et sécuritaire par près de l’ensemble des participantes (n = 19 sur 20). Plusieurs participantes ont identifié que la compétence des animateurs pour maintenir le cadre a été essentielle pour contribuer à leur sentiment de sécurité à travers la démarche. Une participante a souligné que le non respect d’une règle de fonctionnement a nui à son sentiment de sécurité. De façon générale, la démarche de RDV a contribué pour les participantes à un sentiment de libération, à une prise de contact avec leur pouvoir et à un désir de faire de leur histoire un levier de changement positif. / This research project focuses on the experiences of women who have been victims of sexualized violence and have chosen to adress this violence by participating to victim-offender encounters, facilitated by the Centre de services de justice réparatrice (CSJR). The literature identifies that victims of violent crimes are generally satisfied by post-sentence restorative justice practices. However, little research informs us of the particularities of restorative justice practices in the context of sexualized violence, as well as how victims experience it. In order to contribute to the development of the literature on restorative justice practices applied in the context of sexualized violence, this study focuses on a specific victim-offender encounter model developed by the CSJR. A total of 20 women participated to the data collection through interviews. A majority of participants (n = 19 out of 20) experienced the encounters in a positive way and felt safe throughout the process. Most participants mentioned that the competence of the facilitators to maintain the structure was an important factor to make them feel safe. One participant’s safety was compromised by the breach of a rule after the process. In general, the victim-offender encounters of the CSJR contributed to a feeling of liberation for the participants, connected them to their strenghts and personal power and developed their desire to use their personal story in order to drive positive changes.

There has been little research conducted in general that explores the impact of sexualized violence on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. There is even more limited qualitative research, and almost none of it from a therapeutic perspective. This led me to engage with the fictionalized stories of LGBTQ youth characters who have survived sexualized violence to learn how these stories might inform the work of helping professionals. This thesis provides a reflexive thematic analysis of three novels written by queer authors. Through the lens of response-based therapy, intersectional feminism, and queer theory, it considers the ways in which the characters are impacted by their experiences with sexualized violence and their responses to it. Findings indicate that the characters were affected by childhood sexual abuse at a time in their lives when their sexual identities were on the cusp of being formed. Their experiences with sexualized violence impacted the ways that the characters learned to live with contradictions; experienced ambivalence in the relationships with the adults who caused them harm; and engaged in small acts of resistance against the impact of sexualized violence in their lives to create futures in which they could thrive. The characters’ experiences with casual sex and sex work are shown as an act of resistance against violence. This research aims to queer the discourses on LGBTQ youth who have experienced sexualized violence, expose the small acts of resistance that they perform against the impacts of sexualized violence, and transform the ways that child and youth care workers, therapists, social workers, and other helpers understand the resilience and experiences of LGBTQ survivors. / Graduate