Canada’s new Protecting Victims Act strengthens legal provisions for victims of crime, representing one of Canada’s most significant reforms to addressing intimate partner violence (IPV).

Yet, the different needs of survivors — including healing, receiving answers from authorities, accountability and being provided the chance to be part of the legal process in a meaningful way — are not always met through conventional criminal justice systems alone.

We argue it’s time to consider how restorative justice may complement broader efforts to respond to the needs of survivors. This aligns with recommendations from the 2022 Ontario coroner’s inquiry examining the 2015 murders in eastern Ontario of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam to explore restorative justice in dealing with appropriate cases of IPV.

Read more: 3 potential consequences of Ontario’s reluctance to deem intimate partner violence an epidemic

What is restorative justice?

Restorative justice aims to address crime by discussing what happened, its impact and how to work on repairing the harm caused.

It’s a process that includes the people who were harmed, such as victim-survivors, those who caused the harm, family members, friends and community. Many of the underlying principles reflect longstanding approaches to conflict resolution by........

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