Are restorative justice solutions appropriate to address the needs of intimate partner violence victims?

• In Event: RJ beyond the mainstream

Abstract

Due to the Istanbul Convention, the restorative encounter that was previously regulated in the Portuguese Law 112/2009 was revoked. This restorative encounter was a victim-offender meeting, occurring upon their agreement and mediated by a mediator habilitated to do so. On the other hand, in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China with a specific legal system based on Portuguese law, the Domestic Violence Act allows a victim-offender conciliation meeting during the provisional suspension of the proceedings. The main purpose of this presentation is to discuss to which extend the Portuguese legislator should have revoked the former restorative encounter, as well as to analyze the details of the solution currently in force in Macau. As a conclusion, we consider that restorative justice solutions are a possible tool to deal with the outcomes of intimate partner violence, both for current and potential victims, but these solutions cannot have a contra productive effect, which is to leave the victim without any protection, namely in the event of a definitive closure of the case. It is crucial to indicate how restorative justice can be used, given the inherent cycle of violence. Victims have the right to meet the offender, to tell their stories and to heal from the trauma caused by the offences, but they also have the right to be protected. In turn, law makers shall attend to all these variants in order to create the best solutions on behalf of the victims, the offenders and the society as a whole.

Author

• Teresa Lancry Robalo, University of Macau