Restorative Justice and Intimate Partner Violence

There is an urgent need to create new ways for abused women to find justice. Despite significant accomplishments over the past 35 years, community activists know well that justice for abused women remains elusive. The National Violence Against Women Survey indicates that only one-quarter of physical assaults in the U.S. are reported to the police. The authors of this major study suggest that many survivors “do not consider the justice system a viable or appropriate intervention” (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000, p. 51). Clearly, more work is needed to make the criminal legal system responsive to victims (Goodman & Epstein, 2008). But it is also important to increase the narrow range of resources that are currently offered in the name of justice. The limitations of current responses to intimate partner violence by the law, mental health, and the community more broadly have caused many activists to call for new directions in antiviolence work, with greater attention to women suffering from multiple forms of social inequality (Creative Interventions, 2008; Dasgupta, 2003; Fullwood, 2002; Goodman & Epstein, 2008; Incite, 2006; Mitchell-Clark & Autry, 2004; Rosewater & Goodmark, 2007; Sokoloff & Pratt, 2005). A number of antiviolence activists and scholars have been examining restorative justice as a way to expand options for women and increase accountability for violent men. Conferences have been held in Australia (Strang & Braithwaite, 2002) and Canada (Coward, 2000) to bring activists and restorative justice practitioners together to discuss violence against women. Two special journal issues Restorative Justice and Intimate Partner Violence