Changes in prosecutorial strategies vis-a-vis domestic violence introduced new models of investigation that privilege images of victims. Drawing on case law, we argue these visual artefacts of victims’ injuries as well as their videotaped sworn statements describing their assaults constitute what Haggerty and Ericson call a ‘data double’, a virtual doppleganger who is meant to stand, often antagonistically in the stead of the flesh and blood victim. We further suggest, following theorizing on the emotional impact of images, that these pictures and videos, presented in court, have an emotional stickiness that differently affects both judges and juries as compared to the testimony of the flesh and blood victim. Thinking through temporality and notions of femininity we conclude that the truth effect of these images is that the victim’s data double becomes more human than human, forcing us to rethink the relationships between victims, images, and the machinations of justice.

The literature on mandatory charging and prosecution policies consistently finds that zero tolerance approaches to woman abuse often harm, rather than help, abused immigrant women. The unexpected removal of abusers triggers detrimental consequences if women are dependent on their partners for immigration status, financial assistance and linguistic support. The violence that immigrant women experience at the hands of the police and courts has led to repeated calls to shift the responsibility of women abuse from the criminal justice system to the community. However, accessing community supports may not be so straightforward either. For a variety of reasons, many abused immigrant women find silence less risky than disclosing abuse. These dilemmas highlight the importance of acquiring more insight into the mediating role that community organizations perform between the criminal justice system and immigrant communities. Accordingly, the following exploratory study offers a glimpse into the anti-violence work of immigrant community organizations in Toronto, Ontario.

This article examines the administration of community based punishment in Toronto's specialized domestic violence courts. Voluntary organizations play an integral role in the Ontario government's strategy to manage domestic violence. Currently, an array of 'mainstream' and 'ethno-specific' community agencies operate as quasi-criminal justice organizations to rehabilitate and supervise court mandated offenders. Despite their categorization however, both types of organizations largely cater to the same demographics. The discussion explores the techniques of governance service providers deploy when counseling their clientele. The emergence of two differing regimes of power, one emphasizing care and the other discipline, along the mythological categories of the 'mainstream' and 'ethno-specific' illuminate the constitutive effects of organizational habits on the delivery of punishment.

No abstract