A Review of Standards for Batterer Intervention Programs
This document reports on the current status of standards for batterer intervention programs in each U.S. state, describes the common elements of standards, and explores the positive and negative aspects of standards. It includes a chart outlining the status of standards in each state.
Assessing Risk To Children From Batterers (pdf)
This document provides an overview of potential sources of physical and psychological injury to children from contact with batterers, details recommendations for evaluating the risk to children and provides assessment guidelines that professionals can apply in cases where a batterer admits to a history of abusiveness by asserting that he has changed. Information is also provided regarding the necessary context for children's recovery from exposure to battering behavior.
Assessment and evaluation of men who batter women
"Reviews research on characteristics of batterers and encourages ethnically and culturally sensitive approaches to assessment that are to plan effective interventions. Includes considerations regarding assessments for substance abuse, homicide, and more."
Batterer Accountability: Responding to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
"This paper outlines the philosophical basis of best practice that is rooted in batterer accountability - and it outlines the consequences to children when programs are not so rooted. The paper goes on to talk about all the things advocates can do to push system change that fully integrates batterer accountability, provides excellent advocacy to victims, supports CPS collaborators and looks at alternative models for dependencies and termination of parent rights."
Batterer Intervention Program Enrollment and Completion Among Immigrant Men in Massachusetts (pdf)
"This study describes immigrant clients enrolled in Massachusetts batterer intervention (BI) programs from 2002 to 2004. The study seeks to describe the immigrant men enrolled in Massachusetts BI programs, investigate whether immigrants were more or less likely to complete BI programs than were nonimmigrants, and investigate whether immigrants in non-English, culturally specific groups were more or less likely to complete BI programs than were immigrants in mainstream groups."
Batterer Intervention Programs: Where Do We Go From Here? (pdf)
This report analyzes the possibility that previous batterer intervention program evaluations may be methodologically flawed and/or that something may be wrong with the programs themselves.
Batterer Intervention State Standards
This is an extensive directory of state and county standards for batterer intervention and domestic violence education.
Batterer Intervention: Program Approaches and Criminal Justice Strategies (pdf)
This February 1998 report strives to improve the working relationship and mutual understanding between criminal justice personnel and batterer program staff. A secondary goal is to expand the debate about innovative batterer intervention approaches to include criminal justice personnel who work with batterers daily and criminal justice policymakers who are concerned with domestic violence. Published by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs at the National Institute of Justice.
Batterer Intervention: Doing the Work and Measuring the Progress (pdf)
This report is the work of a gathering of practitioners, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss challenging issues related to batterer intervention. It describes the experts roundtable, summarizes the key themes that emerged from the discussions, and recommends next steps for the field of batterer intervention.
Batterer Intervention: Where Do We Go From Here? - Workshop Notes
This article documents the main conversations held at the Batterer Intervention Workshop. Participants discussed several areas that need attention: the definition of a successful outcome, researcher-practitioner partnerships, determining which evaluation designs are most effective under which circumstances, and recruitment and attrition issues. The Workshop was held January 17, 2002.
Breaking the Cycle offers information, exercises and more to help batterer intervention programs begin these essential conversations. These curriculum guidelines were produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund with generous support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Breaking the Cycle: Part I
Breaking the Cycle: Part II
Breaking the Cycle: Tools
Audio Stories
Michael’s Story Part 1 (English, 2:08)
Michael’s Story Part 2 (English, 5:08)
Miguel’s Story Part 1 (Spanish, 2:15)
Miguel’s Story Part 2 (Spanish, 5:39)
California Batterer Intervention Systems Study
This study on batterer intervention programs in the state of California encompasses 5 counties, 53 batterer intervention programs that provide client data, and over 1,000 men enrolled in those programs. The study found that the individual characteristics of the offenders, and not the program they were enrolled in nor the features of the specific court they were sentenced in, were the strongest predictors of outcomes.
Characteristics of Batterers in A Multi-Site Evaluation of Batterer Intervention Systems
Includes: A summary of findings for a 12-month follow-up; A summary of findings for a 15-month follow-up; and List of Papers and Staff
Community Corrections Response To Domestic Violence: Guidelines For Practice (pdf)
"This document provides a series of guidelines for community corrections professionals that support a proactive community supervision approach for domestic violence cases. It pulls together in one place for community corrections professionals and allied justice system and community-based services the conceptual information and practical tools to develop or enhance effective programs."
Controversies and Recent Studies of Batterer Intervention Program Effectiveness
This VAWnet document examines the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs and particularly addresses how they work, for whom do they work best, and which elements of the program are most important.
Danger Zone: Battered Mothers and Their Families in Supervised Visitation (pdf)
"This paper outlines research conducted at a supervised visitation center specifically for serving families where domestic violence was the primary reason for referral. The authors have classified their experiences based on these main subjects: battered women in supervised visitation, how battering continues during supervised visitation, how the rules of the supervised visitation center evolved during the first 18 months of implementation, the importance of well-trained visit monitors, and the need to include supervised visitation centers within a larger context of coordinated community responses to domestic violence."
Discharge Criteria for Batterer Programs
Clinical judgement typically plays a central role in the discharge of the patients from alcohol and mental health treatment. Batterer programs instead rely almost exclusively on program attendance to determine discharge. This paper uses a 10-item set of criteria to rate participants in a 13-week court mandated batterer program. It concludes with a discussion of methodological limitations, practical issues, and alternative applications of discharge criteria.
Do Batterer Program Length or Approach Affect Completion or Re-Arrest Rates? (pdf)
This study compared outcomes between defendants sentenced to two batterer programs in Brooklyn, New York. A literature review on batterer programs is presented followed by the research methodology. The findings suggest that neither underlying program philosophy nor program length alone predict either program completion or future violence.
This article examines the complexities of the question: "Do batterer's programs work?" It begins by exploring the word "works". It then scrutinizes published outcome data on the issue through various lenses of public debate on treatment effectiveness. It concludes with suggested policy and program directions for future interventions.
Domestic Violence and Probation
This article offers specialized management techniques that probation officers can use to monitor batterers and intervene in domestic violence cases more effectively. The author offers suggestions on how to manage offenders on probation, respond to common excuses, and handle those offenders least likely to be held accountable.
Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs: What Counts as Success? (pdf)
This research briefing is an exploration of what we mean by "success" when speaking about Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs. Women, men, practitioners and funders all contributed to this stage of the work.
Domestic Violence Perpetrators: Working with the Cause of the Problem
Respect has put together this document to make the case for increasing the work done with domestic violence perpetrators.
This 133 page publication addresses a number of issues relevant to family violence within the home and the community and specifically focuses on interventions. It is intended to offer communities a guiding framework to develop interventions and measure progress as they seek to improve their responses to families experiencing domestic violence and child maltreatment.
Emerging issues in domestic/family violence research
"This paper presents an overview of the key emerging issues in Australian domestic and family violence research in the context of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities; the elderly; those with disabilities; people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; Indigenous communities; homelessness; the impact on children; and issues around perpetrator programs."
Ending Gender-Based Violence: A call for global action to involve men
In this report, seven masculinity researchers write about masculinity in different parts of the world and about how masculinity is often linked to violence. These acts of violence are committed not only against women and children, but also against other men. The writers suggest a number of ways in which men can be involved in working to combat men’s violence.
Engendering Change: Transforming Gender Roles in Asian & Pacific Islander Communities (pdf)
The introduction begins by providing a description of the societal context in which domestic violence occurs, and leads into a discussion about two batterer intervention programs for Asian men, and concludes with practice implications.
Focus Groups of African-American Men: Perspectives on Addressing Domestic Violence
This study is the first step toward a larger, multi-site project that would obtain valuable information about how to help African-American men prevent or eliminate violence in relationships. The purpose of this paper is to identify realistic approaches by which African-American men can confront friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers or strangers, who are African-American men who batter. What is unique about this study is that African-American men are the key informants.
Guidelines for Men Who Batter Programs
Developed by the People Who Work With People Who Batter, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 1997. It is intended that these guidelines be a guide for new and existing programs toward the development and delivery of services to men involved in heterosexual relationships who have acted abusively toward a partner or spouse.
Intervention for Men Who Batter: A Review of Research
This chapter appears in the book Understanding partner violence: Prevalence, causes, consequences and solutions, edited by S. Stith and M. Straus (1995). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.
Intervention Strategies with Child Maltreating Men (pdf)
This document outlines the importance of healthy parenting following child maltreatment and adds to our understanding of adult male maltreatment intervention by offering some important insights and actionable recommendations.
Limits and Risks of Programs for Wife Batterers
This extensive and multi-part 1995 paper was assembled by the Montreal Men Against Sexism. Due to it's size (approx. 100 pages total), the Microsoft Word version will take some time to download.
Operationalizing Accountability: The Domains and Bases of Accountability (pdf)
In this article, the authors focus on batterer accountability from a personal accountability standpoint. They created a working definition of accountability that was both theoretically sound and user friendly for participants. The authors concluded that learning how to be accountable in the domains of their daily life is important in facilitating their understanding of accountability in ways that will be useful to them in the future.
Predictors of Program Outcome and Recidivism at the Bronx Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court (pdf)
In this study, the authors examine cases in the Bronx for possible correlates of program mandate non-completion and recidivism. A literature review of domestic violence prevention and intervention programs is presented followed by the research study and outcomes.
Promising Practices with Men Who Batter (pdf)
In this report to the King County Domestic Violence Council, the author provides a literature review of promising practices with men who batter, ranging from historical to current approaches. Key research findings on batterer intervention programs(BIP) are provided, including current concerns with BIPs. Finally, current gaps in services are identified and recommendations are given.
Recruitment and Retention in Intimate Partner Violence Research (pdf)
This report focuses on methods of recruitment and retention in intimate partner violence research with particular attention to attrition in batterer treatment programs and retention in longitudinal studies. Case studies highlighting recruitment and retention methods in five different intimate partner violence research programs are described by their respective investigators. A set of guidelines is offered for recruitment and retention in intimate partner violence research, which is intended to help guide the field by offering suggestions that can lead to successful recruitment and retention efforts in a way that maintains the safety of participants and researchers alike.
Restraining Order Violators, Corrective Programming and Recidivism (pdf)
Produced by the Massachusetts Trial Court - Office of the Commissioner of Probation in 2004. This document is the summarized results of a study regarding the ongoings of a domestic violence perpetrator/offender in the criminal courts. Highlights include, the relationship between victime and offender, batterer intervention programs, as well as other forms of treatment/management.
A blog developed by David Mandel & Associates, LLC in which they will be exploring the ideas underpinning the Safe and Together model. The model provides a practical and concrete approach to improving the response of child welfare to the risk and safety concerns presented by batterers. They will be providing practical tips and ideas for policy and practice. All are welcome to participate in the discussion.
Standards For Batterers Intervention Programs
Batterer Intervention Program in the Central Indiana Program, Certified by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. A site dedicated to helping persons seek information, counseling and other resources which aim to intervene in both male and female batterers lives.
Substance Abuse and Woman Abuse by Male Partners
This piece explores the overlap between substance abuse and battering. The author examines various perspectives regarding the relationship between substance abuse and violence, explores research on substance abuse by batterers, and discusses substance abuse by battered women. Includes recommendations for improving interventions with batterers who also abuse substances.
Summary of an evaluation of the court review process for men referred to batterer counseling from the Domestic Violence Court in Pittsburgh.
The PIVOT Project of Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse in Houston is participating in a multi-site battering intervention program evaluation being conducted by Edward Gondolf and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This paper presents the view of collaborative research from the perspective of the program staff and what they learned from the process.
Violence Against Women - Synthesis of Research on Offender Interventions (pdf)
This report provides an overview of the latest research on interventions for men who assault women—wives, girlfriends, and acquaintances. The assaults may be physical or sexual, and they almost always involve psychological abuse. The overview begins with a description of the major components of current programs and then describes what is known about effective assessment and treatment methods. Several topics are covered that are often of interest to practitioners, including methods for enhancing treatment motivation, assessment of dangerousness, and culturally competent practice. The role of research in resolving controversial issues and the characteristics of sound evaluations are also discussed. Programs reviewed will be those commonly labeled as "social service," "treatment," and "psycho-educational," as opposed to purely criminal justice interventions.
Violence Against Women: Classic Papers
The purpose of this project was to assemble some of the classic works in the field of violence against women so that new generations of students, practitioners, and researchers would have a collective understanding of the work that has shaped the field. Included are also commentaries from the original authors, when available, reflecting on why they authored the work when they did and the influence of their work on the field.
When Battered Women Stay... Advocacy Beyond Leaving
"This paper raises the key issues, questions, and dilemmas regarding advocacy with battered women who stay in their relationships. It discusses the limitations of safety strategies for leaving, and frames the issues central to the expansion of advocacy beyond leaving, including: 1) safety planning and advocacy with victims who stay; 2) ending violent and controlling behavior; and 3) knowing what children need to be OK."
Working with Men to Prevent Violence Against Women: Program Modalities and Formats (Part Two)
This VAWnet document discusses best practices in prevention, provides an overview of different program modalities and formats, and reviews pedagogies that can be used in working with men to prevent violence against women.
This paper is part of series of papers that addresses the way to mobilize community and programatic resources to provide responsive help to children and families affected both by domestic violence and poverty. This particular paper addresses the way to offer support and safety for children while maintaining safety, autonomy and choide for battered women.
Working with Young Men Who Batter: Current Strategies and New Directions
This article offers an overview of the recent juvenile batterer intervention programs. It identifies risk factors for teen dating violence perpetration as described by the literature and considers the utility of these findings, describes efforts to prevent re-offenses by juvenile perpetrators of domestic violence, discusses several shortcomings inherent in post-crisis intervention, and outlines current challenges within the field.