Domestic Violence

Domestic violence presents unique challenges and opportunities to restorative justice practitioners. On one hand, the restorative process of taking responsibility, addressing past harm and planning for a better future can look very much like domestic violence syndrome. On the other, restorative responses can offer alternatives to a victim who has kept silence out of fear that the abuser will be arrested and the family's means of support ended. These articles address this important area.

katherine van Wormer on Restorative justice & violence against women

I addressed the issue in Restorative Justice as Social Justice for Victims: A Standpoint Feminist Perspective. Social Work, 54 (2), 2009, 107-117. Also in our [...]

Restorative justice & violence against women

from the entry by Deb and Tina on the BCSTH Library blog: One of our BCSTH members asked me to do some research on restorative justice and its role in cases of violence against women. Here is a summary of my research process.

Restorative Justice is not only mediation

I read the title and I thought it was going to be about RJ, but as usually it only speaks about mediation, and it is [...]

Violence against women: restorative justice solutions in international perspective.

Author: Fernando Vázquez-Portomeñe Seijas In Austria and Germany specialized intervention programmes have adapted the classic principles of penal mediation in order to work with domestic violence cases. This adaptation means introducing changes in several aspects: the duration of the sessions and intervention times, the support of both parts at the moment of presenting their interests, the incorporation of result controls and of the indirect (shuttle) mediation, the incorporation of probation periods and of balance dialogs… In this article will be presented some aspects of the practical execution of the programs: those related to the proceedings orientated to correct the power imbalances and reinforce the position of the disadvantaged part (empowerment strategies), particularly the incorporation of two mediators (a man and a woman) and the coordination with the institutions and agencies that can offer the “resources” that are necessary to reinforce the social links of the victim inside the community. (author abstract)

Violence against women: restorative justice solutions in international perspective.

from the paper by Fernando Vázquez-Portomeñe Seijas: Cases of isolated and slight aggressions suffered by victims with enough social and personal resources (who have denounced the facts or taken other decisions to finish with the situation of violence) are suitable for mediation. The resource to mediation should be excluded, on the other hand, in cases with incidence of chronic or long-term violence and domination. The aggressor will possess such influence and power that the probabilities of reaching a completely voluntary agreement and that this agreement considers the interests of both parts will be scanty.

4 tips for restorative justice programs, skills with victims and addressing domestic violence

from the entry by Kris Miner on Restorative Justice and Circles: ....I’ve been working with Restorative Justice for 14 years, full-time the past 6, going on 7 years. I read all I can find, I am passionate about using a holistic response to people, finding the strengths and power for transformation and healing in Restorative Justice. These 4 tips come from experience and education.

Circulos de Paz and the promise of peace: Restorative justice meets intimate violence

from the article by Linda G. Mills, Mary Helen Maley and Yael Shy in New York University Review of Law and Social Change: Circles of Peace/Circulos de Paz was founded in Nogales, Arizona in 2004 to address these myriad problems with both the criminal justice response to intimate violence and Batterer Intervention Programs. Circles of Peace is the first court-referred domestic violence treatment program to use a restorative justice circle approach to reduce violent behavior in families in the United States. The program consists of twenty-six to fifty-two weeks of conferences, or "Circles," bringing partners who have been abusive (the "applicants") together with willing family members (including those who have been abused, the "participants"), support people, a trained professional facilitator, and community volunteers. The goal is to encourage dialogue about the incident, the history of violence in this family, and meaningful change.

Is restorative justice suited for gender-based violence?

from Sylvia Clute's article on Genuine Justice: Feminists have long decried the deficiencies in the traditional criminal law system when it comes to gender-based violence. The criminal law system fails victims, offenders and the community; there are no winners. Most cases are never reported, and the reported cases have a high attrition rate. Few cases are actually prosecuted. According to Melanie Randall, a law professor with expertise in legal remedies for gender violence, the needs of the victim are diametrically opposed to the needs of the criminal law system. That system is driven by complex rules; it challenges the victim’s credibility; she has no control; she must tell the state’s story instead of a coherent narrative around what happened to her. There is no protection against recall, and there is no safe face to face confrontation.

Relations of domination and subordination: Challenges for restorative justice in responding to domestic violence

from the paper by Julie Stubbs: Barbara Hudson is cautious in her approach to RJ: she summarises the appeal of RJ in ‘the openness of story telling and exploration of possibilities for constructive and creative responses to offences’. In the context of domestic violence she suggests that RJ offers the victim ‘the opportunity to choose how to present herself… [to express] her feelings, her understanding of events, her wishes and demands for the future’. However, Hudson recognises that the discursiveness of RJ is not without problems such as the risk of domination and the reproduction of power relations and she emphasizes the need for ‘strong procedural safeguards’.

On the efficacy of victim-offender-mediation in cases of partnership violence in Austria, or: Men don’t get better, but women get stronger: Is it still true? Outcomes of an empirical study

from the study by Christa Pelikan: Put in a nutshell, the core finding of this study reads thus: The efficacy of VOM in cases partnership violence is to a large part due to the empowerment of the women victims, but partly, albeit to a smaller percentage, also due to an inner change, to insight and following from that a change of behaviour on the side of the male perpetrators. These achievements cannot be understood except as part of a comprehensive societal change – a change of collective mentalities, or in other words: change of expectations1 regarding the use of violence in intimate partnerships.

Domestic Violence Surrogate Dialogue

from their website: Our Mission: The Domestic Violence Surrogate Dialogue (DVSD) program is designed to arrange an appropriate setting and environment whereby domestic violence victims and offenders may meet and engage in a conversation intended to lead to a form of restorative justice. A goal of the session is to generate understanding between the victim and offender as to each other's views and attitudes, as well as focus on the many consequences of domestic violence. I deally, the dialogue will be a catalyst for the victim to begin the release of feelings that will allow her to abandon her anger and initiate a healing process. She will also be able to ask probing questions of an offender that she would never have been able to ask her own abuser for fear of retribution. At the same time, the interactive conversation with the survivor may motivate the offender to seek and find redemption. The offender would recognize that the victim is a person who has been harmed, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. The program also provides the offender an opportunity to help a victim of the same crime he had committed. By revealing his own insight, motivations and manipulations, the offender can enable the victim to discover how to identify and avoid violent behavior in future relationships. For both surrogates, these outcomes would represent a dramatic breakthrough.

Why is it important for people of faith to be involved in domestic violence work?

from the Renewal House blog entry: A reporter from the Boston Herald asked me that question yesterday afternoon. The reporter is working on an article highlighting the Restorer’s Ministry, a new hotline led by three women from the Grace of All Nations Church in Dorchester. We have been supporting the training needs of the three as they seek to live out their call to serving individuals and families struggling with issues of domestic violence in their community.

Intimate partner violence: Towards a sociological understanding

from Richard Record's entry on Sociological Dialogues: Finally the Domestic Violence Act as an intervention by the criminal justice system is based on an adversarial system, where victims often have to defend themselves within the court setting, since perpetrators have the opportunity to make representations and place the victims under cross examination. The credibility of victims can therefore be broken down. Therefore there is the possibility that the woman who might need the protection order the most, will not get one granted due to her credibility being brought into question.

Federal Probation publishes paper on “Pono Kaulike: Restorative Justice and Solution-Focused Approaches to Domestic Violence in Hawaii”

From the Restorative Practices E-Forum for 28 July: The Pono Kaulike program provided facilitated restorative justice processes combined with solution-focused brief therapy with subjects who plead guilty to crimes including assault, harassment, criminal property damage, criminal trespass, terroristic threatening and negligent homicide.

Millbank, Sue and Michael Riches and Prior, Bill. "Reducing repeat victimisation of domestic violence: The NDV Project."

The NDV Project is a partnership between the crime prevention police unit in South Australia and locally based service providers. The aim is to prevent domestic violence, especially repetition of domestic violence. The authors of this paper explain the theoretical perspectives behind the project, the aims of the project, and the project model. Issues and problems encountered in the project are discussed, as are early findings of the project’s results. It is noted that a comprehensive evaluation of the NDV Project has been designed and will be completed in 2001.

Nicholl, Caroline G. "Forcing women to testify against their will: Does this protect or prejudice women who are abused?"

Beginning with the issue whether women should be forced to testify in domestic violence cases, Nicholl maintains that domestic violence is a unique type of crime, and that the criminal justice system does not satisfactorily address the needs of domestic violence victims or change the behavior of domestic violence offenders. Therefore she argues for a more comprehensive approach based in restorative justice. This approach has far more potential to change offenders’ behavior and to address the needs of victims in this complex type of crime.

Sherman, Lawrence W. "Domestic Violence and Defiance Theory: Understanding Why Arrest Can Backfire."

Sherman is developing defiance theory to explain the differing effect on domestic violence. Combining Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming with other theories of social behavior, Sherman builds a model in which those offenders with strong social bonds react well to arrest. At the same time, those with weak social bonds react badly. He points out that the manner in which the sanctions are delivered can produce these different responses. He proposes that conferencing models be explored in finding ways to fight recidivism.

Presser, Lois and Gaarder, Emily. Can restorative justice reduce battering? Some preliminary considerations

According to Presser and Gaarder, domestic violence is a seemingly intractable problem. Some argue that common legal strategies to help victims, such as mediation, actually make matters worse. While some feminists have virtually rejected mediation, restorative justice, which some have touted as a "feminist vision of justice," has introduced new variations on mediation. In this seemingly contradictory context, the authors evaluate the potential of restorative justice programs to reduce domestic violence. Toward this end, they investigate contemporary responses to battering and compare them to the promises and problems of restorative justice interventions.

Rowe, K.. "Limits of the Neighborhood Justice Center: Why Domestic Violence Cases Should Not Be Mediated."

This essay discusses the reasons that mediation is an inappropriate method for dealing with domestic violence and that alternative approaches that physically protect victims are more suitable. Problems hampering such mediation include: the lack of the social cohesion necessary to enforce mediated agreements; the likelihood that agreements may be more favorable to the abusive spouse than to the victim; depriving battered women of their rights of access to the courts, of remaining in their homes, and of personal security. Arrest may be essential to protect the woman and children from further serious abuse and to deter further violence. Programs are needed that protect victims from further harm. are described.

Pennell, J and Burford, G. Family Group Decision Making: New Roles for 'Old' Partners in Resolving Family Violence. Implementation report (Vol. 1).

This research report presents the initial findings from the Family Group Decision Making project in Newfoundland, Labrador, and New Brunswick CAN. This project used an adaptation of the New Zealand Family Group Conference to reduce domestic violence in a variety of cultural settings. Trained coordinators brought together domestic abusers, their family, and their extended family and others with professionals to creates plans to stop the abuse and protect the vulnerable family members. Family agreements were approved by relevant Child Welfare case-workers and supervisors. Results from the 37 conferences include case outcomes and program expenditures. The purpose, methodology, and underlying principles are presented; and both short-term and long-terms implications are considered.