ABSTRACT
Extending restorative practices to intimate partner violence is not straightforward. Many doubts have been raised, principally because such violence differs from other kinds of crime by being a ‘gendered harm’ which is based on dominance and subordination. Intimate partner violence is usually characterized by long-standing power imbalances, secrecy, economic dependencies, the vulnerability of children and pressures from relatives (Coker 2002, Curtis-Fawley and Daly 2005). Key questions to be addressed are when (if at all) is it appropriate to use restorative justice processes for intimate partner violence, with what safeguards, and in what relation to the criminal justice system?
