Judicial Restorative Justice and Domestic Violence in Brazil: Setting Problems and Challenges from the Field

Abstract

The solution of conflicts, cases of violence and harmful offences through alternatives to the penal system has been encouraged by Brazil’s Conselho Nacional de Justiça/National Justice Council (CNJ) since 2010. However, empirical studies that assess the impact of restorative practices when applied to domestic violence cases are sparse because most of them tend to highlight the retributive model’s insufficiency compared to the restorative model. In attempt to break away from that logic, the article analyses the insertion of practices of restorative justice regarding domestic violence by examining empirical studies carried out at the Rio Grande do Sul’s Justice Court, a pioneer in the employment of restorative justice. The study shows that restorative practices for domestic violence are residual, do not disrupt the traditional model and are not understood as restorative by women. Therefore, a broad and serious discussion about the model being implemented in Brazil is needed.