Gameful Relating: How young offenders gain agency in criminal rehabilitation and restorative justice
Assistant Professor Trine Mygind Korsby has, together with Clara Rosa Sandbye, published the article ‘Gameful Relating: How young offenders gain agency in criminal rehabilitation and restorative justice’ in The British Journal of Criminology.
The article explores how young offenders navigate rehabilitation and restorative justice interventions in Denmark. Sandbye and Korsby suggest the concept of ‘gameful relating’ to illustrate how criminalized young people interact with professionals in the rehabilitation system to regain a sense of agency.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the analysis zooms in on the case of 15-year-old Karl and his participation in victim–offender mediation and broader crime-prevention schemes. The article shows how young people like Karl utilize cunning and playful social strategies to create a navigational space for themselves in their constrained and precarious life situations in the aftermath of crime.