Restorative justice and aboriginal family violence: Opening a space for healing

Source: (2002) In Restorative justice and family violence, ed. Heather Strang and John Braithwaite, 191-205. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Research indicates that rates of interpersonal violence in Australian aboriginal communities are significantly higher than in non-aboriginal communities. In this context, Harry Blagg -basing his paper on a number of research and policy development projects to address family violence prevention, intervention, and treatment, principally in Western Australian- considers the application of restorative justice to aboriginal family violence, with particular reference to violence against women. Indigenous people, according to Blagg, maintain that a holistic process of community healing, rather than a zero-tolerance approach and increased criminalization of indigenous men, is more appropriate to reduce and break the cycle of violence in their families and communities. Restorative justice should support community healing and empowerment of indigenous women. The shape and content of restorative justice practices, then, should reflect indigenous culture, not “non-indigenous ‘restorative justice movements’ â€?.