A Comparison Study of Batterer Intervention and Restorative Justice Programs for Domestic Violence Offenders

National Science Foundation (NSF)

2005-2009

This National Science Foundation-funded study on treatment programs for domestic violence offenders in Nogales, Arizona, compared a traditional batterer intervention program with a Circle-based restorative justice approach.

The results indicate that a restorative justice treatment approach can be a viable and safe option for domestic violence offenders. Furthermore, the findings suggest that victim participation in restorative justice is not dangerous per se and falsify the claim that it is dangerous to use restorative justice for domestic violence. An article on this study was published in March 2013 in Journal of Experimental Criminology, titled: "The next generation of court-mandated domestic violence treatment: a comparison study of batterer intervention and restorative justice programs."