Beyond Apology?: Domestic Violence and Critical Questions for Restorative Justice

• NCJ Number: 218528
• Journal: Criminology & Criminal Justice Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 169-187
• Author(s): Julie Stubbs
• Date Published: May 2007
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article identifies and discusses key issues that have been neglected in the restorative justice literature from a feminist perspective, using domestic violence as a focus.

Abstract

The author argues that victims' interest and safety, expectations about the victim's role in repairing harms done to her, and the appeal to the use of apology and forgiveness may require modification in cases that involve persistent intimate partner violence. Much of the restorative justice literature assumes that the victim and offender are strangers who have had a single encounter in which the offender harmed the victim in some way. The focus is on accountability for that one harmful event and how the harms done can be repaired by the offender. The rehabilitative focus is on the offender's behavior, beliefs, and attitudes that led to the harmful behavior. In domestic violence cases, however, the offender and victim have typically been involved in an ongoing cycle of abuse that has inflicted persistent psychological and physical harm on the victim. This occurs within a dynamic of the offender's obsession to control the victim. Issues that arise in submitting domestic violence cases to restorative justice processes are the mechanisms for ensuring the victim's safety before, during, and after the restorative process, as well as who is responsible for monitoring the outcomes of any agreement so as to ensure that victims continue to be safe. This suggests that restorative justice processes in domestic violence cases should give top priority to victim safety. Restorative justice processes should include domestic-violence experts who represent law enforcement, women's shelters, legal advocates, and treatment providers. This will ensure that any discussions take into account the factors that distinguish the case and must be addressed in order to ensure the victim's safety, along with that of her children. 9 notes and 83 references