Session: Restorative Justice and Domestic Violence: Reimagining Theory, Process, Structures and Connections to Community (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Social work researchers are increasingly engaged in research on restorative justice since it offers a framework that aligns with the profession's core values and opens new pathways for practice, policy, and scholarship. Restorative justice is gaining significant traction in social work, integrating the ethics and multilevel approaches that the profession espouses. Its focus on healing harm, accountability, and the repair of relationships offers a promising pathway for addressing domestic violence (DV). In this symposium, we present four papers highlighting restorative justice applications to addressing DV with a focus on intervention programs and policy.

The first paper presents the findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing a standard batterer intervention program (BIP) to a hybrid treatment approach that combines BIP with a restorative justice component, called Circles of Peace (CP), in Utah, focusing on recidivism and harm reduction. It is one of the few RCTs in the field and the first to focus only on DV in cases of intimate partner violence. The results suggest that using BIP-plus-CP reduced both the number of new crimes and severity of crimes by almost 40%.

The second paper focuses on decision-making processes in the implementation of a CP pilot program in a northeast state based on growing evidence in the field. Guided by prospect theory, stakeholders' experiences and perspectives about the decision-making process to adapt and implement a CP pilot program as an alternative DV intervention program are explored. In this qualitative study, multiple semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders were conducted and thematic analysis was used to analyze their narratives. The findings offer insights into critical factors that contribute to the decision-making process of adapting and implementing a restorative justice program.

The third paper captures the impacts and challenges of COVID-19 on the service provision and implementation of a restorative justice pilot program for DV. This qualitative study, focusing on participants in the CP program (facilitators, victim advocates, and community volunteers) was underway when the pandemic started. The findings from the interviews reveal procedural and structural barriers to implementation experienced from pivoting to a virtual setting. Adjustments were made to accommodate new implementation needs under COVID-19 induced conditions. Prospects for integrating virtual service delivery to promote positive behavior change and communal connections characteristic to restorative justice were uncovered.

The fourth paper presents the domestic violence and restorative justice legislative landscape. Building on a previous review of restorative justice policies, this policy study applies a critical feminist theory identifying how power and control, intersectionality, and structural violence are reproduced or countered in framing DV, agency, safety, and healing. A database on state criminal and juvenile codes was analyzed alongside corresponding testimony in two ways: content analysis and stakeholder analysis, to understand the key proponents and opponents of restorative justice, and how restorative justice for DV policy translates into law. The findings show a contentious landscape for both implementation and research.