Table Of Content

A R E S T O R A T I V E A P P R O A C H T O F A M I L Y V I O Routledge Frontiers of Criminal Justice L E N C E A RESTORATIVE APPROACH TO FAMILY VIOLENCE FEMINIST KIN-MAKING Joan Pennell “This important and beautifully written book narrates a history of brave innovation confronting family violence at its roots in Newfoundland and Labrador. It empowered First Peoples and First Nations to innovate in ways that allow us all to learn from their wisdom, and from histories of our colonial suppression of that wisdom. Evocative theoretical themes include feminist kin-making that moves patriarchal family structures from taking to tending. Joan Pennell draws upon deep wells of feminist activism in the shelter movement. She is an inspiring visionary, returning social work to its Hull House origins of doing with, away from doing for, from doing to.” John Braithwaite, University of Maryland and Australian National University; Distinguished Professor Emeritus, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) “A Restorative Approach to Family Violence: Feminist Kin-Making pro- vides strong evidence for how, among other things, resetting externally imposed cultural narratives and re-centering the value of kinship ties are necessary steps towards addressing family violence. These steps may potentially change how child welfare systems engage with communities in which solutions can most effectively be found within their cultural roots.” Kwesi Brookins, Professor of Psychology and Africana Studies, North Carolina State University; Director, Center for Family and Community Engagement “In this fantastic book, Professor Joan Pennell offers an exciting theoretical re-framing of the well-known Newfoundland and Labrador FGDM project led by Professor Gale Burford and her in the 1990s. The passage of time allows the author to reflect back and to add rich, multi-dimen- sional and state-of-the-art layers of theory to the program, which was ahead of its time when implemented. The book is a “Must read” for any- one working in the field of family violence, child protection and restorative justice: The “mother” of family group decision making re-organizes the building blocks of the project’s long-lasting success, and constructs a new framework that combines feminist, intergenerational, relational, cultural-sensitive and regulatory theories together. With this new framework, the strengths of the restorative justice approach become even more apparent; the development of new programs becomes more structured; and the evaluation of operating programs can be far more robust.” Tali Gal, Head, School of Criminology, University of Haifa, Israel “In this valuable and timely book, Joan Pennell persuasively addresses one of the dilemmas confronting the modern development and application of restorative practices—family violence. Among RJ practitioners, the application of restorative values, principles, and practices to family violence has been thought to be very risky. It was feared that it might result in revictimization by those responsible due to power imbalances, subtle communication cues, and later retaliation. Based on an early demonstration project by Gale Burford and Joan, this book demonstrates that while careful preparation and coordination are necessary to decrease the odds of additional harm, Family Group Decision Making rooted in restorative practices may be uniquely suited to help families heal the harms, change attitudes and behaviors, and allow respectful relationships to be reestablished.” Michael J. Gilbert, Professor Emeritus of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Texas at San Antonio; Executive Director, National Association of Community and Restorative Justice “This important book is written by one of the key developers of our practice and thinking around restorative approaches to family violence. It draws on both contemporary research and the author’s reflections on the trail-blazing use of restorative approaches in Canada in the 1990s. Characteristically, the book does not duck the challenges of family violence but is founded in a feminist kinship approach that carries hope and belief in families’ and communities’ abilities to address it, with the right support. The book also brings an important focus on the centrality of narratives to this work—the importance of questioning narratives which create stereotypes that disempower families and communities, and the revolutionary power of personal narratives as a means of grasping agency and making meaning from experience.” Robin Sen, Lecturer, Social Work, University of Edinburgh, Scotland; Editor, Practice: Social Work in Action A Restorative Approach to Family Violence A Restorative Approach to Family Violence looks back at an early and successful demonstration of a family and culturally based model to stop severe family violence. This conferencing model, called family group decision making, was applied by three diverse Canadian communities—Inuit, rural, and urban—to the benefit of child and adult family members. Narrative inquiry identifies how engaging the family and relatives resets the narrative from misrecognition to recognition of their competence and caring. Family violence poses some of the most long-term and controversial questions in restorative justice. Should we use a restorative approach to stop gendered and intergenerational harm? Or will bringing together those who have been harmed, those causing harm, and their supporters only incite more violence? Underlying these questions is a profound distrust of families and their cultural networks. This distrust has stalled turning away from carceral interventions that particularly harm minoritized communities. Moving forward in time, the volume identifies blocks to trusting families and their cultural networks and means of circumventing these blocks. The book offers a theory of feminist kin-making to comprehend the restorative process and gives practical guidance to restorative participants, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Joan Pennell is Professor Emerita of Social Work and founding director of the Center for Family and Community Engagement at North Carolina State University. Before her return to the United States, she was principal inves- tigator (with Dr. Gale Burford) of the Newfoundland and Labrador, Can- ada, demonstration of family group decision making in situations of child maltreatment and domestic violence. In the US, she has conducted research on family group conferencing and other forms of engaging families in decision-making. She has a long-term commitment to the movements for gender, racial, and economic justice. Routledge Frontiers of Criminal Justice The Impact of Covid-19 on Prison Conditions and Penal Policy Edited by Frieder Dünkel, Stefan Harrendorf and Dirk van Zyl Smit The Virtual Reality of Imprisonment in Russia “Preparing myself for Prison” in a Contested Human Rights Landscape Laura Piacentini and Elena Katz Life Without Parole Worse than Death? Ross Kleinstuber, Jeremiah Coldsmith, Margaret E. Leigey and Sandra Joy Penal Responses to Serious Offending by Children Principles, Practice and Global Perspectives Nessa Lynch, Yannick van den Brink and Louise Forde A Restorative Approach to Family Violence Feminist Kin-Making Joan Pennell Interviewing of Suspects with Mental Health Conditions and Disorders in England and Wales A Paradigm Shift Laura Farrugia Convictions Without Truth The Incompatibility of Science and Law Robert Schehr For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Frontiers-of-Criminal-Justice/book-series/RFCJ A Restorative Approach to Family Violence Feminist Kin-Making Joan Pennell First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Taylor & Francis The right of Joan Pennell to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Pennell, Joan, 1949- author. Title: A restorative approach to family violence : feminist kin-making / Joan Pennell. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Series: Routledge frontiers of criminal justice | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022000398 (print) | LCCN 2022000399 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367612665 (hbk) | ISBN 9780367615253 (pbk) | ISBN 9781003105374 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Family violence. | Family violence--Prevention. Classification: LCC HV6626 .P453 2023 (print) | LCC HV6626 (ebook) | DDC 362.82/92--dc23/eng/20220121 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022000398 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022000399 ISBN: 978-0-367-61266-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-61525-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-10537-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003105374 Typeset in Bembo by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. To My Family Group I dedicate this book to my family, friends, and all those with whom I have made, am making, and will make kinship. Contents Foreword from Labrador xiv Foreword from Newfoundland xvi Preface xviii Project Materials xxi Abbreviations xxii 1 A Restorative Approach—Narrative Threads 1 Defamiliarizing family violence 1 Feminist action against family violence 2 An unexpected conclusion 3 Feminist kin-making 4 From resemblance to affinity 4 An imposed ethic of care 5 From taking to tending 5 A restorative approach and family violence 6 Culturally responsive 6 Multiplying benefits 7 Instigating change 8 Western restorative traditions 8 Gendered shaming 8 Movements to colorize restorative justice 9 Growing openness 10 Resistance to White supremacy 10 Accountability for racial justice 11 Endogenous-exogenous solutions 12 Learnings 13 Cultural practice and rights 13 A family group or the family group 13 Recognition without the necessary power and means 14