When punishment and philanthropy mix: Voluntary organizations and the governance of the domestic violence offender

Abstract

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.