Restorative justice and youth violence toward parents

Abstract

This chapter presents three cases of sons' violence against mothers that were handled by a diversionary youth conference, a restorative justice process. Drawing on interviews with conference coordinators and victims, the analysis considers the histories, contexts, and dynamics of the violence; what happened in the conference, including gendered power dynamics and re-victimization; and the women's experiences during the conference and post-conference. The literature on youth parental violence and debates on the appropriateness of restorative justice for domestic or partner violence cases is reviewed and assessed. The dynamics of male youth offender cases are similar to those of their adult counterparts; and thus, the youth cases provide insight on the strengths and limits of restorative justice for partner violence.