Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women
Edited by James Ptacek
Reviews and Awards
"This is the right book at the right time! The current political climate offers the best hope we have had in years for developing real alternatives to the crime-centered approach to violence against women that has become the norm. Laying out what those alternatives might look like, while offering important warnings about their limitations, Ptacek has tapped some of the most thoughtful scholars and activists to provide an explicitly feminist analysis of the use of RJ and other new anti-violence strategies in response to violence against women. The result is a book that demonstrates the importance of race, immigration status, and class in understanding women's experiences of violence and in developing the responses that are necessary to stop the violence. This book is a must-read for violence against women scholars and activists, for community organizers concerned with broad issues of racial and gender justice, and for RJ proponents."--Donna Coker, J.D., Professor of Law, University of Miami
"James Ptacek has assembled some of the most progressive, experienced voices in the movement to end violence against women. These essays are unsentimental explorations of the possibilities for crafting transformative organizing models that confront not only individual violence, but the context of violent oppression. The scope is global but the strategies are grounded in the everyday experiences of women. Anyone who seeks a realistic, invigorated approach to social justice without sacrificing women's safety should read this hopeful book."--Kathleen J. Ferraro, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Northern Arizona University
"Restorative justice poses a profoundly important, though controversial, challenge to the domestic violence movement and to feminism more broadly. Chapter authors do not shy away from the big questions, such as how we balance offender accountability and victim safety. Is restoration enough, or does justice require redemption and liberation? Where does (and can) justice happen? How should our responses address the racism, colonialism, poverty, and heterosexism that undergird gendered violence? This compelling book will inspire new thinking, new research, and new action for victims, offenders, and communities."--Lisa Goodman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College
"This collection of articles on RJ and the spectrum of contributors and perspectives is worthwhile reading for scholars, students, practitioners and activists...This book makes us think and encourages us to engage in conversations that can bring about diverse and meaningful ways to address violence against women." --Contemporary Sociology
"...the book is well balanced in that it offers the reader both critiques and support for restorative justice practices with cases of interpersonal violence....this book is an excellent tool for both the novice and the expert in the fields of interpersonal violence and restorative justice." --Criminal Justice Policy Review
"...it presents important academic and political analyses of the issues and practical examples of new ways of approaching that elusive goal of justice." --Times Higher Education
"Anyone interested in family violence should read this book and consider the concepts proposed by this perspective." --Choice
