Gendering violence, remorse, and the role of restorative justice: deconstructing public perceptions of Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski

Abstract

Fourteen year old Reena Virk was beaten by a group of teenagers and then drowned by two members of the group (Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski) on 14 November 1997, in Saanich British Columbia, Canada. While there has been much public, media and academic commentary on Kelly Ellard, no gendered analysis of the role Warren Glowatski played in this murder exists. Reflecting on the social and media constructions of boy and girl violence more broadly, as well as the specifics in the Reena Virk case, I offer a feminist analysis of the roles and presentations of masculinity and femininity within the perpetration of violence. A gendered examination of the role remorse plays within the criminal justice system and in our interpretations of ‘inherent’ boy vs girl violence is presented. Public and media constructions of Glowatski shifted, becoming more sympathetic, after he admitted guilt and became a witness for the Crown in the case against Kelly Ellard. Such a finding questions whether similar shifts would have occurred for Ellard, who continues to deny responsibility for Virk’s death and who continues to be actively demonized in the media. Similarly, how public forgiveness of Glowatski by the victim’s family operated as a technology of discursive power in the public ‘acceptance’ or forgiveness of Warren Glowatski is examined. Finally, the role of healing and forgiveness, as it is typified within the philosophical paradigm of ‘restorative justice’, is presented as a more positive way forward – for victims and criminalized persons, as well as for the criminal justice system – and in cases involving violence, particularly youth violence.

Keywords:

• Reena Virk
• boy/girl violence
• masculinity/femininity
• restorative justice
• remorse

Notes

1. While examining the intersection of race, class and gender is helpful in understanding the dynamics of this case, an in‐depth analysis of this intersection is beyond the scope of this paper. For example, in earlier work (Kilty & Fabian, in press) I examine how Reena Virk’s racialized identity as South Asian was rendered invisible in this case. Similarly, the whiteness of her attackers was ignored – both legally as well as from social discourses – due to an ideology of colorblindness within which we live. For a more detailed examination of the role race played in this case, please see Batacharya (2006), Jiwani (1999) and Kilty & Fabian (in press).

2. The title of this section was taken from the title of Nicole Lafleur’s (2004) MA thesis, ‘“Boys will be boys” and girls will be good: addressing violence against females in adolescent beauty/fashion magazines’, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.

3. Restorative justice is a branch of criminology that is philosophically grounded in the concept of reducing and repairing harms that emerge from conflict and crime. Restorative justice was founded on the premise that crimes are a rupture between relationships; therefore, the goal is to repair some of that rupture (Zehr, 2005; Zehr & Mika, 1998). As our current criminal justice system is based on revenge and retribution rather than forgiveness or healing, restorative justice offers a more positive and emotionally healthy way forward by including the voices of victims of crime throughout the process. For some victims, who are able to secure answers to the questions they have regarding their experiences of crime, restorative justice processes allow for a degree of closure (Morris, 1995, 2000; Zehr & Mika, 1998; Zehr, 2005). It should be noted that, while restorative justice processes may not work for everyone, they should be available and offered to all those going through the system.

4. Keyword searches were not limited by a date range specification in order to include all relevant articles specific to this case. Therefore, the timeframe for the article sample is bookended by the date the crime occurred (November 1997) and the date the searches were completed (May 2008).

5. Razack (2002) discusses how place and space shape the lives of and can impact the law as it is applied to racialized women. Kelly Ellard’s socio‐economic background more readily reflects that of the location of the murder, Saanich, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Whereas mainland Vancouver is a multicultural urban center, Saanich, a small town near Victoria, is a primarily white haven for retirees and senior citizens (Godfrey, 2005). Contrastingly, Warren Glowatski lived with his poor and single mother, who is also described as being alcohol‐dependent (Godfrey, 2005). While Ellard has the economic support of her family to afford the legal fees of her ongoing trials, Glowatski was not so privileged and was thus less likely to challenge the law in the same ways.

6. In Canada, there has been some debate regarding the cooptation of restorative justice ideals and practices by criminal justice systems (Piché & Strimelle, 2007). The alternative to violence programming that Glowatski participated in was run by outside volunteers and was not directed or managed by the institution in which he was serving time. This distinction is essential in order to maintain the fundamental values of restorative justice.

7. It is important to acknowledge that, because this paper relies solely on media representations of the events, we only have access to information and interpretations that are reported in newsprint. Future research would do well to validate these claims by speaking with individuals who have participated in restorative processes.