Applying Restorative Justice to Ongoing Intimate Violence: Problems and Possibilities

Source: (2004) Saint Louis University Public Law Review. 23(1): 289-311.

Domestic violence has been and continues to be a long-standing problem in human societies. In recent decades there have been significant efforts in many countries to address and prevent such violence. Yet, claim the authors of this paper, there is little evidence that such efforts have reduced the rates of domestic violence to any great degree, at least in the United States. Moreover, legal responses to family violence are often inadequate, at best, for victims and survivors of the violence. In this context, the authors examine the use of restorative justice to address family or domestic violence. They discuss what restorative justice is, feminist theory and concerns about the use of restorative justice in this area, and a Canadian family group decision-making project as a restorative justice response to family violence.