Restorative Justice Essay
Restorative Justice Used Against Domestic Violence With domestic violence being a difficult crime to prosecute due to victim’s hesitation about reporting incidents and stigma still existing in the legal system against victims who do ask for help, it is a good opportunity to test out restorative justice beyond the realm of juvenile court. Traditional criminal justice approaches to handling domestic violence are criticized for robbing the victim of power, relabeling the crime as a disagreement (leading to blame being thrown on the victim as well as trying to place victim and offender on level ground regardless of power discrepancies,) and potentially leading to higher rates of recidivism and victimization. Strong legal action has failed to bring about any aide for the victim, going so far as forcing them to press charges or avoid calling police altogether. While more desirable, standard mediation also falls short of fully helping domestic violence victims. As stated in class and again in
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this article, mediation alludes to equal moral ground for the offender and victim. Another problem seen with mediation is that when a victim has undergone severe emotional manipulation, they will often compromise or feel the need to take the blame in a situation. Furthermore, redefining domestic violence as a conflict once more places blame also on the shoulders of the victim, making it more difficult for a true resolution to be reached. Even though mediation has slowly become more appealing than legal action in cases of domestic violence, this process still has severe shortcomings that restorative justice is believed to remedy. Unlike legal action and mediation, restorative justice gives power to the victim and potentially overcomes racial and cultural issues not addressed by traditional ways of handling cases.
Beyond this, restorative justice also requires more community involvement than other models, a benefit the authors argue will decrease the instances of domestic violence and especially recidivism. The belief here is that domestic violence thrives in an environment where victims lack community support and resources and thus become trapped in a cycle of abuse. With restorative justice bringing in community support by adding to the groundwork laid by feminists in the form of battered women’s shelters, the aim is to empower victims while simultaneously publicly disapproving of the offender’s actions. Battered women’s shelters offer strong support to victims of domestic violence, but restorative justice will be able to fill in any shortcomings (believed mostly to lie in lack of cultural
sensitivity.) As discussed in class and also within the article, cultural sensitivity during conferencing needs to be mandatory. Integrating more of a restorative justice approach to current practices will focus on support coming from communities who the victim and offender are familiar with to reduce instances of racism that impede justice. Finally, the article highlights the importance of restorative justice focusing on healing rather than a punished offender and forgotten victim. Using this approach in domestic violence would allow healing processes to begin so the victim may move beyond their experience and better continue their life. Offenders also benefit; instead of falling into a shame-rage spiral, they can feel positive support towards changing. Both victims and offenders are theorized to benefit from restorative justice being used to heal in domestic violence cases. Furthermore, restorative justice would confront accepted norms of battery simply existing. Victims are given higher standing and shame is aimed at offenders instead. The article wraps up completely with a standard warning that restorative justice should not be viewed as a complete replacement to criminal justice. Instead, restorative justice helps heal and reconcile, but domestic violence remains a serious offense that often requires court intervention. A balance needs to be struck on a case-by-case basis, for the safety of the victim and for the benefit of the community as a whole. If this is done, restorative justice is argued to be the best approach to handling domestic violence if the victim is comfortable with the concept.
this article, mediation alludes to equal moral ground for the offender and victim. Another problem seen with mediation is that when a victim has undergone severe emotional manipulation, they will often compromise or feel the need to take the blame in a situation. Furthermore, redefining domestic violence as a conflict once more places blame also on the shoulders of the victim, making it more difficult for a true resolution to be reached. Even though mediation has slowly become more appealing than legal action in cases of domestic violence, this process still has severe shortcomings that restorative justice is believed to remedy. Unlike legal action and mediation, restorative justice gives power to the victim and potentially overcomes racial and cultural issues not addressed by traditional ways of handling cases.
Beyond this, restorative justice also requires more community involvement than other models, a benefit the authors argue will decrease the instances of domestic violence and especially recidivism. The belief here is that domestic violence thrives in an environment where victims lack community support and resources and thus become trapped in a cycle of abuse. With restorative justice bringing in community support by adding to the groundwork laid by feminists in the form of battered women’s shelters, the aim is to empower victims while simultaneously publicly disapproving of the offender’s actions. Battered women’s shelters offer strong support to victims of domestic violence, but restorative justice will be able to fill in any shortcomings (believed mostly to lie in lack of cultural
sensitivity.) As discussed in class and also within the article, cultural sensitivity during conferencing needs to be mandatory. Integrating more of a restorative justice approach to current practices will focus on support coming from communities who the victim and offender are familiar with to reduce instances of racism that impede justice. Finally, the article highlights the importance of restorative justice focusing on healing rather than a punished offender and forgotten victim. Using this approach in domestic violence would allow healing processes to begin so the victim may move beyond their experience and better continue their life. Offenders also benefit; instead of falling into a shame-rage spiral, they can feel positive support towards changing. Both victims and offenders are theorized to benefit from restorative justice being used to heal in domestic violence cases. Furthermore, restorative justice would confront accepted norms of battery simply existing. Victims are given higher standing and shame is aimed at offenders instead. The article wraps up completely with a standard warning that restorative justice should not be viewed as a complete replacement to criminal justice. Instead, restorative justice helps heal and reconcile, but domestic violence remains a serious offense that often requires court intervention. A balance needs to be struck on a case-by-case basis, for the safety of the victim and for the benefit of the community as a whole. If this is done, restorative justice is argued to be the best approach to handling domestic violence if the victim is comfortable with the concept.