A Review of Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs in the United Kingdom

Australian Trends in Academic Literature Concerned With Family and Domestic Violence Perpetrators: A Bibliometric Literature Review

In this article, we used a novel hybrid approach to review literature concerned with family and domestic violence (FADV) perpetrators. Our intention was to chart the research and publication activity of authors with Australian affiliation to identify homegrown evidence related to stopping the perpetration of violence. This involved systematic searching of literature from the Scopus electronic database, utilization of VOSviewer to sort keyword co-occurrences and authorship linking for 1,494 publication records over a 30-year period, and the review of 21 articles with perpetrator focus, identified from the 50 most cited publications. We found that Australians' authoring interests in FADV, over the last three decades, with perpetrator focus were predominantly concentrated on gender, rape and sexual assault, coercive control, and child abuse. In the most cited literature, six major themes were identified: perpetrator motivations, perpetrator interventions, patterns of violence, pandemic duet, perception of blame, and cyberstalking and violence. An upward curve in Australian authoring activity in the period under review aligns with societal shifts in which FADV was once considered a private issue and has now become ubiquitous in the public domain. Our findings revealed that research into perpetrators is insufficient to promote a zero-tolerance approach to FADV. Our corresponding in-depth literature review provides valuable insights surrounding perpetrator intervention programs with the goal of more effectively addressing the emerging challenge of technology-facilitated coercive control.

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group domestic abuse perpetrator programme: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

In contrast to evidence for interventions supporting victim/survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), the effectiveness of perpetrator programmes for reduction of abuse is uncertain. This study aims to estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a perpetrator programme for men.

METHODS

Pragmatic two-group individually randomised controlled trial (RCT) with embedded process and economic evaluation. Five centres in southwest England and South Wales aim to recruit 316 (reduced from original target of 366) male domestic abuse perpetrators. These will be randomised 2:1 to a community-based domestic abuse perpetrator programme (DAPP) or usual care comparator with 12-month follow-up. Female partners/ex-partners will be invited to join the study. The intervention for men comprises 23 weekly sessions of a group programme delivered in voluntary sector domestic abuse services. The intervention for female partners/ex-partners is one-to-one support from a safety worker. Men allocated to usual care receive no intervention; however, they are free to access other services. Their partners/ex-partners will be signposted to support services. Data is collected at baseline, and 4, 8 and 12 months' follow-up. The primary outcome is men's self-reported abusive behaviour measured by the Abusive Behaviour Inventory (ABI-29) at 12 months. Secondary measures include physical and mental health status and resource use alongside the abuse measure ABI (ABI-R) for partners/ex-partners and criminal justice contact for men. A mixed methods process evaluation and qualitative study will explore mechanisms of effectiveness, judge fidelity to the intervention model using interviews and group observations. The economic evaluation, over a 1-year time horizon from three perspectives (health and social care, public sector and society), will employ a cost-consequences framework reporting costs alongside economic outcomes (Quality-Adjusted Life Years derived from EQ-5D-5L, SF-12 and CHU-9D, and ICECAP-A) as well as the primary and other secondary outcomes.

DISCUSSION

This trial will provide evidence of the (cost)effectiveness of a DAPP. The embedded process evaluation will further insights in the experiences and contexts of participants and their journey through a perpetrator programme, and the study will seek to address the omission in other studies of economic evaluations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN15804282, April 1, 2019.

Gender-Based Violence, Subjective Quality of Life, and Mental Health Outcomes Among Palestinian Women: The Mediating Role of Social Support and Agency

We tested the association between gender-based violence (GBV), subjective quality of life, and mental distress manifested by anxiety, depression, and stress among Palestinian women exposed to political and military violence. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, Berlin Social Support Scales, WHO-5 subjective Quality of Life Scale, Women's Agency Scale 61, and Violence Against Women Questionnaire were administered to 332 purposely selected participants. Structural equation modeling was applied to address the study hypothesis. A conceptual model depicting GBV as a predictor, mental distress as an outcome variable, and agency and social support as mediators was confirmed.

But, Who Is the Victim Here? Exploring Judgments Toward Hypothetical Bidirectional Domestic Violence Scenarios

Gendered models of abuse describe intimate partner violence (IPV) as unilaterally perpetrated by dominant, aggressive men toward vulnerable women. This unidirectional conceptualization has contributed to a "domestic violence stereotype" which, alongside broader attitudes regarding gender, influences attitudes toward "non-typical" victim and perpetrator groups (e.g., male victims, female perpetrators, those within same-sex relationships), and has significant outcomes for help-seeking decision-making, as well as responses from service providers and the criminal justice system. While prevalence data and research suggest bidirectional violence is in fact the most common pattern, there is still little known about how the stereotypes and attitudes described above manifest in scenarios where both parties occupy "victim" and "perpetrator" labels. The present pilot study therefore asked 178 undergraduate students to allocate "victim" and "perpetrator" labels, and make judgments of severity, resolution, and justice outcomes, toward hypothetical opposite-sex IPV scenarios varying on the proportion of abuse perpetrated by each party, and type of violence. Results showed that participants were infrequently labelled men as "victims," and women as "perpetrators," across scenarios. They were also less likely to recommend that the man should call the police. These exploratory results suggest that powerful stereotypes about IPV and gender may serve to influence perceptions of bidirectional violence and point to a need to study this issue in more detail to elucidate the most appropriate way to begin to address these issues.

Treatment for perpetrators of intimate partner violence: What is the evidence?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a worldwide health issue that calls for urgent interventions to prevent the significant physical and mental harm it poses to the individuals involved and to reduce its wider deleterious impacts on society. Despite 40 years of research in the field, incidence rates of IPV have not significantly declined and treatment services for perpetrators of IPV are scarce. Empirical research has been hindered by ideological disputes, and the most commonly used treatment approaches-the feminist-oriented Duluth approach and cognitive-behavioral treatments-lack evidence for their efficacy. This introduction to this issue of In Session reviews these ideological controversies and the current state of empirical evidence for the treatment of perpetrators of IPV; and summarizes the five papers, commissioned from different countries in Europe, North America, and Africa, comprising this issue, each of which presents a novel therapeutic intervention for this heterogeneous population.

The search for tailored treatments: Discussion of five interventions for perpetrators of intimate partner violence

This commentary on five articles comprising this Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session issue on therapeutic interventions for perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) brings together relevant issues reflected in these papers concerning the need for tailored treatments for a heterogenous population of individuals with differing characteristics, psychopathology, risk factors and needs. Among the key issues addressed in this commentary are typologies of IPV, the influence of personality disorder and attachment in the predisposition to perpetrating IPV and identifying therapeutic factors common to these interventions. The discussion is contextualised within a field beset by controversy and political ideology which limits the impact of empirical research.

How Dark Personalities Perpetrate Partner and General Aggression in Sweden and the United Kingdom

Research has demonstrated, in Western nations, men and women are both perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, to the best of our knowledge, IPV and the Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and subclinical sadism) have not been included in this research fully. We investigated how these dark personalities influenced the perpetration of IPV in a cross-cultural study between Sweden and the United Kingdom through surveys with university students. We furthermore compared IPV perpetration with same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner to explore sex- and aggression-specific effects. In a sample of 342 participants, our main findings were the following: (a) the only significant difference in IPV perpetration was women were more verbally aggressive; (b) men reported more verbal and physical same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner; (c) men scored higher on all the Dark Tetrad personalities regardless of culture, while the Swedish sample scored significantly higher on subclinical narcissism and sadism; (d) the Dark Tetrad and aggression perpetration were significantly correlated; (e) different Dark Tetrad personalities predicted different forms of aggression perpetration with some gender differences; and (f) being high on subclinical psychopathy predicted most types of aggression regardless of target. Our study highlights that dark personalities engage in particular types of aggression, which helps to determine how and when distinctive personalities aggress for potential interventions.

Men building better relationships: A scoping review

ISSUE ADDRESSED

Health outcomes linked to men's relationships have the potential to both promote and risk the well-being of males and their families. The current scoping review provides a synthesis of men's relationship programs (excluding criminal court mandated services) in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom to distil predominant program designs, access points, delivery modes and evaluative strategies.

METHODS

Databases CINAHL, Medline, PsycInfo and Web of Science were searched for eligible articles published January 2010 and June 2020. The inclusion criteria consisted of empirical studies focussed on relationship programs for men.

RESULTS

The review identified 21 articles comprising eight focussed on Fathering Identities as the Catalyst for Relationship Building and 13 targeting Men's Behaviour Change in Partner Relationships. Findings highlight the prevalence of group-based, in-person programs which men accessed via third party or self-referrals. Fathering programs highlighted the impact of men's violence on their children in appealing to attendees to strategise behavioural adjustments. Men's partner relationship programs emphasised self-control amid building strategies for proactively dealing with distress and conflict. Program evaluations consistently reported attendee feedback to gauge the acceptability and usefulness of services.

CONCLUSIONS

That most men attending fathering and partner relationship programs were referred as a result of domestic violence and/or intimate partner violence underscores men's reticence for proactively seeking help as well as the absence of upstream relationship programs. There are likely enormous gains to be made by norming boys and men's relationship programs to prevent rather than correct violent and/or abusive behaviours.