Are batterer intervention programs effective

Most agree that "effectiveness" means the cessation of abuse. However, across all programs, men of color had a lower rate of program completion than white men, and thus experts agree that cultural competency is very important to program success. From: Sullivan, Cris M. At best they control and reduce the danger of physical violence, but rarely eliminate the pattern of dominance behind it.

Other research indicates that BIPs have little effect on recidivism or attitudes of violent offenders. However, at least one study found that men who were required to attend longer programs had significantly fewer complaints lodged against them than those who completed an 8-week program. June at www. Although Stop Violence Against Women endeavors to provide useful and accurate information, Stop Violence Against Women does not warrant the accuracy of the materials provided.

Accordingly, this Web Site and its information are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular use or purpose, or non-infringement. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. This information is provided with the understanding that Stop Violence Against Women and its partners are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services.

If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use this material for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to The Advocates for Human Rights. Domestic Violence. Prosecutorial Reform. Surveys of National Laws U. Prevalence of Trafficking in Women. What is Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? Council of Europe. Defining Sexual Harassment.

Civil Law Criminal Law. What is Sexual Assault? Consent, Force and Coercion. Marital and Intimate Partner Sexual Assault. Council of Europe European Union. Ongoing Developments. Acid Attacks, Stove Burning, Etc. Complaint Mechanisms. Complaint Mechanism Additional Resources. Reporting Mechanism Additional Resources. Court of Justice Commission Parliament. Effectiveness of Batterers' Intervention Programs.

Human Trafficking. Sexual Harassment. Sexual Assault. Other Forms of Violence Against Women. General Information. Best Practices. Law and Policy. Forms of Domestic Violence.

Theories of Violence. Prevalence of Domestic Violence. Effects of Domestic Violence. Women's Use of Violence. Dating Violence. Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence. Technology-Assisted Domestic Violence. Evolution of Theories of Violence. Other Causes and Complicating Factors. Myths About Alcohol. Health Effects. Effects on Children. Community Costs of Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence and Housing. Inter-Agency Response. Victim Protection, Support and Assistance. Systems Actors. Orders for Protection.

Child Custody and Family Law Issues. Batterers' Intervention Programs. Lobbying and Community Education. Goals and Strategies of an Inter-Agency Response. Inter-Agency Response Participants. Benefits of Coordination. Adapting the Duluth Model. Advocacy Guidelines.

Lethal and Extremely Dangerous Behavior. Safety Planning. Shelters and Safehouses. Crisis Centers and Hotlines. Role of Police. Role of Prosecutors. Role of the Judiciary. Role of Health Care Providers. Forensic Medical Systems.

Law Enforcement Reform. Determining the Predominant Aggressor. Officer-Involved Domestic Violence. Judicial Education and Support. Specialized Domestic Violence Court Systems. Court Monitoring Programs. Domestic Fatality Review Boards. Confidentiality and Support. Screening and Referral. Documentation and Reporting. Creating a Health Care Response. Child Custody Issues.

Role of Child Protection Services. Protective Orders and Child Custody. Divorce and Child Custody. Parenting Time and Domestic Violence. Child Protective Services and Domestic Violence. The Hague Convention and Domestic Violence.

Counseling and Treatment. International Domestic Violence Law. The effect of any of the elements of a community violence prevention effort are equally small, including education, arrest, prosecution, probation, victim services, and adjunct services. The most effective reduction in partner violence will occur in those communities with the strongest combination of coordinated, accountable elements; BIPs are more effective for some men than others.

One in four men referred to a BIP will account for most of the repeat violence and most of the serious injury within a batterer program.

The batterer program alone will not effectively reduce his potential for violence, so the batterer program's best role for these hard-to-treat men may be to hold them in program as long as possible, increasing the time a battered women may need to get herself into a safer position.

Although longer term programs may not be more effective in rehabilitating these batterers, they may serve a more useful function as agents of accountability and victim safety than shorter term programs; Most re-offense occurs early, usually within six months of initial program intake.

Assessment and accountability must be on-going, not something which is done only at program intake and follow-up; and, No program approaches have shown themselves to be superior to other approaches, so standards that specify specific BIP models must do so with criteria other than recidivism in mind. Due to concerns about victim safety, batterer programs must not only hold their participants accountable, but BIPs must also hold themselves accountable as well.

The best way to do this is to work closely with local victim services agency or victim advocates. Specifically: While nearly 50 empirical studies have been published on batterer program outcomes, in only four of these studies were batterers randomly assigned to a BIP or a no-treatment control group.

Nor should we necessarily try to do so, since such a distinction contradicts the theoretical premises of most batterer programs; and, The primary outcome for BIPs-re-offense-is measured in two ways: victim report and re-arrest. Victim contact is always difficult and potentially unsafe. A substantial proportion of batterers will either be living alone or moved on to their next partner.

Re-arrest data grossly under-estimates re-offense. Batterer self-report is not considered a valid indicator of outcome. Many were forged by a bonfire of social disadvantages, including poverty and poor education. Many were drunk or high during the abuse itself. And yet none of these factors explain much. Even among boys who grow up seeing violence, most do not go on to hit women. Even among men who go to the bar every day, most do not go home to hit their partners.

So what separates the abusers from the non-abusers? Here again, no one is sure. One of the most popular theories assumes that domestic violence is built on a foundation of oozy, retrograde sexism. An abuser may be broken, addicted, emotionally unstable, poor, frustrated, anything. But under this view, the reason he's abusive is fundamentally social.

To end domestic violence then, we simply need to fix the script. Now the league is working closely with Porter and Bunch as it prepares its new programs, according to spokesperson Joanna Hunt. The ideas involved are undeniably compelling. The idea is to surround the next generation of men with a single, uniform message against domestic violence. Even more troubling is what seems to happen when sexism is used as the basis for treatment. The team of taxpayer-funded researchers recently reviewed all the literature on the sexism model.

Now the field is shifting once again, this time toward prevention programs. The CDC has been quietly leading this effort. It started in at the state level, where the CDC has helped dozens of local coalitions develop offices of prevention.