Orcid ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3419-5964
Daniela Bolívar is a psychologist, holds a Master’s degree in Community Social Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and a PhD in Criminology from KU Leuven (Belgium). She is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where she also coordinates the Restorative Justice and Social Peace Program.
Her work focuses on areas such as restorative justice, victimology, criminology, and criminal victimization, with a particular interest in innovative justice mechanisms, hate crimes, and social violence. Daniela worked for eight years in victim support services in Chile, and later served as a researcher at KU Leuven (Belgium), the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC, Belgium), and the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ, Belgium). Among her recent research projects, she serves as co-investigator on “Restorative justice for crimes against the environment and against animals: Design of prevention, intervention and reparation programs within a globalised framework” (2021–2025), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. She has also led or participated in projects such as “Proposal for a public defender and comprehensive care service for victims of crime in Chile” (Center for Public Policy, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), and “The role of justice needs in the recovery and reparation process of adult victims of violent crimes in Santiago, Chile” (FONDECYT N° 11160741). Daniela has published several journal articles and book chapters, including her book Restoring Harm: A Psychosocial Approach to Victims and Restorative Justice (2019).
She is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Victimology and serves on the editorial board of The International Journal of Restorative Justice. Her research continues to shape innovative approaches to addressing victimization and promoting reparation in contexts of social violence.