Restorative justice could dramatically cut domestic violence recidivism

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Domestic violence accounts for a huge portion of the violent crimes and homicides committed in the US. According to the US Department of Justice, around a fifth of non-fatal violent crimes between 2003 and 2012 were committed by a partner or family member of the victim. The CDC reports that more than half of the women murdered between 2003 and 2014 were killed by intimate partners.

How can domestic violence be reduced? Offenders are often sentenced to treatment that tries to prevent reoffending, but rates of recidivism are still high. A new approach drawing on what's called "restorative justice" could help to reduce the rate of future offenses, according to a paper in Nature Human Behaviour published this week.

Restorative justice focuses responses on addressing the social harms caused by an offense. Compared to a standard treatment program, the restorative justice approach halved arrest rates over a period of two years. There's a lot more research needed, but restorative justice could offer a promising approach.

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