Web resource:	http://www.bwjp.org/files/bwjp/articles/Role_of_Restorative_Justice_Battered_Women%27s_Movement.pdf
Type:	Report
Title:	The role of restorative justice in the battered women's movement
Authors:	Frederick, Loretta Lizdas, Kristine C
Keywords:	Restorative justice;Criminal justice responses
Year:	2003
Publisher:	Battered Women's Justice Project
Notes:	General overview: This paper critiques the responses of both the criminal justice system and the restorative justice movement to domestic violence, and makes some proposals which the authors argue will produce more effective, redemptive and liberating responses to battered women. Discussion: The battered women’s movement has identified battering as a problem of violence against women by men, and has pointed to a social context of men’s subordination of women. The practices of the movement include community education/media campaigns, the provision of shelters and support groups, advocacy and campaigns for civil legal relief, reform of the criminal justice system and victim compensation. In a separate development, dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system has contributed to the development of restorative justice practices. Restorative justice practices include mediation between victim and offender, family group conferences, sentencing and healing circles and victim impact panels. The goals of these practices include the rehabilitation of the offender, the restoration of victims and the healing of the community. The two movements have values in common but there are some significant differences between the two movements. The battered women’s movement has centred many of its activities on the criminal justice system but this system is not focussed on victim’s needs. Advocacy for housing and benefits may be a more useful approach, as well as individual advocacy to mobilise a woman’s own community for protection. The authors make proposals for the criminal justice system, restorative justice movement and battered women’s movement. These proposals are aimed at restoring the battered woman’s safety, addressing her life-generated risks (those that arise from economics, education, discrimination, language, gender, immigration status, social circumstances and socio-cultural practices), restoring her autonomy and restoring egalitarianism and peace as a community standard for conduct in relationships. The report recommends the criminal justice system and restorative justice practices prioritise women’s safety and send a clear message that the violence must stop. The community should not be engaged in restorative justice practices unless the community is opposed to gender based violence. Battered women’s programs must ensure that they are truly accessible, ensure confidentiality, build support for women within their communities and avoid relying too heavily on the criminal justice system. Victim autonomy should be restored by taking the opinion of the victim into account after the arrest stage of proceedings. Battered women’s services should avoid pressuring women not to reconcile with the abuser. The restorative justice movement should acknowledge the role of gender in domestic violence, while the battered women’s movement should resist the current trend to gender neutralising domestic violence services.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19219
Physical description:	41 p.
Appears in Collections:	Reports

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