Restorative Domicide: Meaning-Making in Homicide Covictims' Campaigns for Residential Demolition.

Abstract

This article examines covictims' campaigns for the demolition of residences tainted by homicide. It takes guidance from scholarship on domicide, the deliberate destruction of home, and theoretical contributions exploring meaning-making in homicide bereavement. It conceptualizes restorative domicide as the deliberate destruction of a residence associated with homicide. Drawing upon open-source data to compose a qualitative case study based in Ontario, Canada, this article locates restorative domicide as a meaning-making strategy across three themes: (a) transforming traumatic landscapes, (b) deriving purpose in demolition, and (c) affirming and preserving the victim's moral worth The findings corroborate and extend existing research by demonstrating the diverse set of meanings covictims ascribe to and pursue through residential demolition, highlighting its potential to facilitate healing, enable goal-oriented action, and recognize the collective dimension of the loss. The findings are used to platform a discussion of theoretical, methodological, and policy directions.