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3 Int'l J. Therapeutic Juris. 49 (2018)
Family Violence Courts in New Zealand: Therapeutic for Whom

handle is hein.journals/ijtherju3 and id is 67 raw text is: FAMILY VIOLENCE CoURTS IN NEW ZEALAND: THERA- PEUTIC FOR WHOM? Alice Mills and Katey Thom* Abstract Family violence is a major social problem in New Zea- land. It has the highest prevalence of partner assault among westernised countries, and nearly half of all homicides and re- ported violent crimes are related to family violence (Ministry of Justice, 2015). Family Violence Courts (hereinafter FVCs) were first established in New Zealand in 2001 and have been conceptualised as broadly based on the principles of Therapeutic Jurisprudence (hereinafter TJ) (Knaggs, Leahy, Soboleva, & Ong, 2008a). The aim of FVCs is to improve ef- ficiency in the processing of family violence cases whilst en- suring offender accountability and the safety of victims (Minis- try of Justice, 2008). Drawing on existing literature and obser- vations of FVCs in New Zealand, this paper aims to explore the tensions that may arise between achieving these goals. Specif- ically, this paper considers early guilty pleas and the need to expedite the court process; the quality of judicial monitoring and limited information-sharing between agencies; the ques- tionable efficacy of offender treatment programmes; and, the promotion of victim safety. It also examines the granting of Section 106, discharge without conviction, for offenders who submit an early guilty plea, and complete an offender treatment programme. Although this may help to expedite cases, this pa- per explores how this may also risk sending a message to vic- * Alice Mills is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland. Katey Thom, PhD, is a senior research fellow in the medical and health faculty at the University of Auckland.

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