In search of justice for domestic and family violence : Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian women's perspectives

In 2000, reports of two Australian taskforce investigations considering justice responses to violence against women contained opposing recommendations about the suitability of restorative justice for cases of domestic and family violence. One taskforce was composed entirely by Indigenous women while the other was composed predominantly by non-Indigenous women. This paper analyses interviews with members of each taskforce, confirming a split between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women on the appropriateness of restorative justice in cases of domestic and family violence. There was some agreement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women's views about the potential for combining elements of the criminal justice system and restorative justice, although this potential was conditional on various factors specific to each group of women.