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 of Indigenous women while the other was
predominantly composed of non-Indigenous women. This article 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
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