Restorative Justice and Women's Experiences of Violence in Nigeria

Abstract

The principles of restorative justice (RJ) and traditional African mediatory practices share a similar vision about giving social healing to offenders, victims, and communities in the aftermath of victimization. Regrettably, colonialism drove Africa's traditional restoration-based justice initiative out by forcefully replacing it with its retribution-oriented alternative. The chapter theoretically examines RJ vis-à-vis women's experiences of violence in Nigeria. It obtained its data mainly from secondary sources. It argues that culture prevents numerous cases involving the interests of women, as wives or intimate partners of men, from public negotiation especially with or before strangers in Nigeria. This chapter concludes that RJ is an innovative means of returning to and modernizing Africa's history of social healing to ease access of Nigerians to justice, regardless of gender.