Empathy for violent offenders: Knowing the truth facilitates victims’ empathy in victim-offender mediation

Objective: We examined whether the feeling of knowing the truth may facilitate the emergence of victims’ empathy for offenders in instances of victim-offender mediation that address violent and non-violent crimes. 

Methods: We manipulated the perceived completeness/incompleteness of victims’ level of knowing the truth about an imagined/experienced crime and utilised a victim-offender mediation scenario design. In Studies 1 and 2, participants imagined experiencing either a violent crime or non-violent crime. In Study 3, we recruited real victims who had experienced either violent or non-violent crimes. 

Results: In Studies 1 and 2, participants in the violent crime condition reported lower empathy, but the perception of complete truth (vs. incomplete) attenuated this effect. In Study 3, the perception of complete truth (vs. incomplete) manipulation caused victims of real crime to report greater empathy for offenders. 

Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of complete truth sharing in victim-offender mediation, especially for addressing violent crimes.