Restorative justice and the protection of gender-based violence victims in the Inter-American Court: evolution and perspectives

Restorative justice is gaining increasing relevance within the Inter-American human rights system, emerging as a complementary - and in some cases, alternative - paradigm to traditional retributive justice. This study explores the role of restorative justice, particularly in the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, with a specific focus on the context of gender-based violence. The analysis of relevant doctrine, international instruments, and landmark cases - such as Campo Algodonero - shows that both material and symbolic reparative measures strengthen the dignity of victims, fostering collective memory and contributing to the prevention of repetition. Victim participation and the public acknowledgment of state responsibility emerge as essential components for effectiveness in contemporary criminal justice and, more broadly, in post-conflict reconciliation and reparation processes for serious human rights violations. Finally, the analysis suggests the formal recognition of restorative justice as an autonomous human right and for the desirable drafting of an international convention that could ensure its systemic and integrated implementation, with particular attention to the gender dimension.