Most feminists have centered on the unequal treatment accorded women by a patriarchal justice system. They emphasize the need for fair, open, rational treatment of women within the framework of a procedural model of justice. This model called the Portia model, focuses on the need for equality between the sexes before the law, but fails to see the wider social context in which women are disadvantaged and unequal to men even before they encounter the criminal justice system. An alternative model of justice for women, the Persephone model, emphasizes the inherent feminine characteristics of women. This model values caring, informality, networking, and cooperation. By incorporating elements of the social justice Persephone model in criminal justice in procedures dealing with victim-offender contact, and community service and victim reparation, a more humane approach to justice will be achieved. 29 references.