ABSTRACT
This chapter explains what is understood by ‘domestic violence’ and the more compelling arguments about how it may be best punished. The most startling fact about domestic violence is that it is not criminalized in many jurisdictions. Special duties are different from general duties. General duties are owed ‘generally’ to everyone. Special duties are owed to some, but not all. Special duties arise in relation to the connections of intrinsic value, such as our shared intimate relationships. Domestic violence is a set of violent acts perpetrated against victims to whom people owe special duties. Domestic violence is a distinctive crime that is often recognized as criminal by citizens, but which has all too rarely been formally criminalized as a distinctive offence by many jurisdictions. Restorative mediation is often endorsed as the preferred informal means of addressing domestic violence in cases where victims oppose the possible imprisonment of their abusers.
