1st Edition
A Restorative Approach to Family Violence Changing Tack
This volume provides an essential update on current thinking, practice and research into the use of restorative justice in the area of family violence. It contains contemporary empirical, theoretical and practical perspectives on the use of restorative justice for intimate partner and family violence, including sexual violence and elder abuse. Whilst raising issues relating to the implications of reporting, it provides a fresh look at victims’ issues as well as providing accounts of those who have participated in restorative justice processes and who have been victims of abusive relationships. Contributions are included from a wide range of perspectives to provide a balanced approach that is not simply polemic or advocating. Rather, the book genuinely raises the issue for debate, with the advantage of bringing into the open new research which has not been widely published previously. Given its unique experience in the development of restorative justice, the book includes empirical studies relating to New Zealand, contextualized within the global situation by the inclusion of perspectives on practices in the UK, Australia and North America. This book will be key reading for people who work with violent offending of a family nature as well as for those who are interested in the study of family violence.
Biography
Anne Hayden is Research Associate at the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. A Churchill Fellow, her research concerned initiatives for victims of crime (1996). She is a former practitioner who wrote the Restorative Conferencing Manual of Aotearoa New Zealand (2001). She has also carried out research in the same field through the Victoria University of Wellington. She has published in journals and edited collections on the use of restorative justice for intimate partner violence. Loraine Gelsthorpe is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK. She has extensive publications across a broad range of topics, but most particularly: women, crime and criminal justice, the development and operation of community penalties, and youth justice. Venezia Kingi is a research and evaluation consultant. She was a Senior Research Fellow at the Crime and Justice Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington from its establishment in 2000 until its closure late last year. Venezia has extensive experience of research in the criminal justice area, and a comprehensive knowledge of issues relating to crime and justice and social issues in New Zealand. Allison Morris was Professor of Criminology and Director of the Institute of Criminology at Victoria University, New Zealand until she retired in 2001. She has lectured in criminology at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge and in Criminal Law and Criminology at Edinburgh University. She has carried out research on women's prison, youth justice systems, violence against women and restorative justice, and has been widely published in these fields.
’This volume offers a crucial contribution to the debate on the applicability of restorative justice to family violence. Written by outstanding authors, the book is a treasure of balanced reflection, documented by rich practical experience and excellent systematic research. It is a must read for those who are considering the potentials and risks of restorative justice in the response to family violence.’ Lode Walgrave, University of Leuven, Belgium ’A Restorative Approach to Family Violence represents a substantive and timely contribution to the development of an emerging practice to a seemingly intractable problem. With a primary focus on New Zealand, an inspiration and a leader in the use of restorative processes for a variety of crimes, this book is beneficial to those who seek to understand how restorative justice, once forbidden in addressing family violence, has become a meaningful (and surprising) alternative to addressing these gender crimes. Questioning throughout, A Restorative Approach helps the reader understand the contours of the debate and the possibilities for creative solutions to intimate abuse that the criminal justice system has so often failed to address or repair.’ Linda G. Mills, Center on Violence and Recovery, New York University, USA
