In 2000, two Australian taskforce investigations considering justice responses to violence against women released reports contained opposing recommendations about the suitability of restorative justice for cases of domestic and family violence. One taskforce was composed entirely of Indigenous women, while the other was predominantly composed of non-Indigenous women. This article analyses interviews with members of each taskforce, confirming a split between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women on the appropriateness of restorative justice in cases of domestic and family violence. The results show the Indigenous women strongly rejected the criminal justice system, and its response to family violence because the state and its institutions did not represent the interests of Indigenous communities. The non-Indigenous women strongly felt the state must own domestic violence. Their overreaching goal was reform of the criminal justice system to achieve gender equality in its processes and outcomes. There wassome agreement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women’s views about the potential for combining elements of the criminal justice system and restorative justice, although this potential was conditional on various factors specific to each group of women. (Abstract, edited.)